Participants in the study stretched for 40 minutes three times a week.  This might seem like alot of stretching for most people, but for the performance athlete, it won’t seem like such a hurdle.  The study involved 38 mostly sedentary people who were divided in two groups. One group did not do any stretching exercises during a 10-week period while the other group engaged in a program that required stretching the legs for 40 minutes a few times a week. The series of 15 static stretches in the program were aimed at working all major muscles in the legs, including the hamstrings and quadriceps. Several of the stretches, for instance, required sitting on the floor with the legs out and then lowering the chest toward the legs. Participants held each stretch for 15 seconds and then repeated it three times. People in neither group participated in any other kind of regular exercise routine.

Not surprisingly, those on the stretching program improved their flexibility, demonstrated by an average 18 percent increase in the distance they could reach during stretching, according to findings published in the October issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a journal of the ACSM.

But they also increased their strength, as measured by their ability to perform on weight machines. The amount of weight they could lift one time – their “one-repetition maximum” – increased an average of 32 percent for knee extension exercises and 15 percent for knee flexion exercises. Their muscular endurance – defined at the number of repetitions they could do at a weight that was 60 percent of their max – improved 29 percent for knee extension and 30 percent for knee flexion.

In addition, the stretching group saw more modest gains in other areas. Their vertical-jump distance increased 7 percent and their standing long-jump distance increased 2 percent.

Those in the control group saw no improvements in any of these areas, results showed.

Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance and getting rid of those annoying sports injuries. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won’t be effective.  This study is pretty compelling to make stretching a major part of your training regimen.

With that in mind, always make sure you stretch a warm muscle.  Stretching a cold muscle is a sure way to an injury.  Warm up before stretching if you want to stretch before exercise.  Of course, if you stretch after exercise, your muscles are already warmed up.  Think of your muscles as taffy.  Hard taffy will break, but warm taffy will stretch and stretch.  Stretching shouldn’t hurt.  If you feel like you are pushing the stretch too far, you are. 

Perform safe and perform well.

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Mouth:  As we put bites of food in our mouth, saliva begins to lubricate it.  The digestive enzymes like amylase present in saliva, break down the food.  If the food is in a puréed form, no chewing is necessary, otherwise chewing is necessary to aid in the breaking down of the food into what is called “foodstuffs” or “bolus.”   People who like to only chew their food once or twice before swallowing are missing this first stage in digestion and keeping their body from properly breaking down the food at the onset.  Poorly chewed food greatly taxes the digestive system as it enters the next stage having not processed properly.  As the food continues from one stage of digestion to the next, each organ involved is working overtime to overcompensate for that improperly processed food that began in the mouth.  When we chew our food adequately (5-10 for soft food like peas and 20-30 for food like steak,) we allow the digestion process to continue smoothly without a hitch.  Additionally, when food is not well-chewed and the food fragments are too big to be properly broken down, incomplete digestion occurs. Not only do nutrients not get extracted from the food, but undigested food becomes home for bacteria in the colon which can lead to bacterial overgrowth, flatulence and other symptoms of indigestion.  So, slow down and chew your food! 

Esophagus:   This is the tube, located in our throat, that connects the mouth and the stomach, acting as a simple conduit to deliver the food stuffs to the next stage of digestion.

Stomach:  The stomach is where the real action begins.  The foodstuffs are met by enzymes that initiate the digestion of proteins and are then reduced to liquid form.  This would be where the foodstuffs stop looking like food.   Everything from the beginning to the stomach is commonly referred to as the upper GI.

Liver:  The digestion journey doesn’t take us into the liver, but it is the center of metabolic activity in the body.  It is located right outside the stomach and has connection to the beginning of the small intestine.  Its major role in the digestive process is to provide bile salts to the small intestine, which are critical for digestion and absorption of fats.

GallBladder: This little guy is the tiny, pear-shaped organ attached to the liver.  This is where the liver gets the bile from.  The gallbladder’s main job is to make and store bile.  Too much of the wrong kind of diet can cause this little guy to send you into excruciating pain as gall stones are formed and try to ‘pass.’  As a result, many people in that boat have had to have the gallbladder removed.  To reduce your risks of developing these painful stones:  maintain a healthy weight, eat regular, balanced meals (healthy fats, lean protein, whole grains and green leafy vegetables – limit consumption of saturated fats and bad fats,) and exercise daily or as much as possible.

Pancreas:  Same as the liver, digestion doesn’t continue through the pancreas itself.  The pancreas has important roles as both an endocrine and exocrine organ.  Located just outside the small intestine and a little lower than the liver, it provides a potent combination of digestive enzymes to the small intestine which are critical for digestion of fats, carbohydrates and protein.

Small Intestine:  So here we find ourselves back where we had just left the stomach in a liquid form.  We continue into the small intestine, which is the most exciting place to be in the entire digestive system.  This is the place where the final stages of chemical enzymatic digestion occur and where almost all nutrients are absorbed and utilized in our body.  Most people think this occurs in the stomach, but now you know.  The small intestine is also where the lower GI begins.

Large Intestine:  This is the final stage of digestion.  The large intestine, or large bowel, functions mainly to absorb water from the undigested food back into the blood. This makes the feces more solid.  It also absorbs vitamins made by the bacteria(healthy) which live in the large intestine.  Finally, it stores the feces before they are eliminated from the body.  Since this is where the feces are stored, it is easy to see how having daily bowel movements are essential in completing the digestive process.  If elimination is not occurring daily (assuming your body is not on a fast or altered diet) then, as digestion continues in all of the previous stages, the feces will back up.  This backup will be painful and uncomfortable.  And ultimately, when you do go, usually bleeding and tearing of the anus occurs, causing more pain and the possibility for infection.  Additionally, although science is divided on this point, there is the possibility of toxins in the feces absorbing through the intestinal wall and back into the body if it sits there long enough.  People who are constipated and/or irregular for some other reason do not feel well and are not in optimal health.  All in all, when you get the urge to go, go.  If you have problems with this, most of the time, increasing your intake of water during the day will do the trick.  To go or not to go . . .  If that is the question, the answer should always be to go.  Be well and go daily.

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To begin with, it is essential to know that we (humans) are not bodies.  When we look in the mirror, the person that we see is not who we really are.  We are spirits or spirit beings.  As a spirit, we are eternal.  For those of us who grew up in traditional religion, we may have heard or read the term “heart” and wondered where that fits in as well.  Mainstream religion is very concerned about the condition of the “heart.”  This term is not referring to our physical organ that pumps our blood, but rather is referring to the spirit.  In this sense, heart and spirit can be used interchangeably.  And when you think about it, it makes sense.  Since we are a spirit, that is what is at the “heart” or center of a human.

As a spirit we possess a soul.  The soul is another misunderstood term.  Basically put, our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Many people wrongly term the spirit as the soul.  The spirit and soul are not the same.  Every spirit has a soul.  Because we possess a soul, our soul is eternal as well with the spirit.  In eternity, we will carry our same consciousness as we currently do.  I counsel many people people who are concerned about this aspect of the soul.  To you, no worries.    You will always know who you are and have your memories.

The final piece to this is that as a spirit we live in a physical body.  Both our physical body and our soul are in submission – or should be in submission to us, the spirit.  Unfortunately, misinformed by society, tradition and religion, we go through life out of balance.  We tend to feed and nurture our bodies and our minds, while completely neglecting the spirit.

Before we go further, let’s recap.  We are a spirit.  We possess a soul.  And we live in a body.  If you can get that much down out of this article, you are worlds ahead of most of the world in gaining good spiritual health.  If we don’t understand this, we will always listen to the needs of the body and the soul first and we will starve ourselves spiritually.  Our lives will structure and focus around the needs of the body and the soul.  For the record though, good health in your soul and your body is important.

At this point you may be wondering how to improve on your spiritual health.  It  is not complicated, but rather quite simple.  Every time we connect with our Creator, we feed our spirit.  This may be in song or in conversation or in meditation.  This even extends to reading and writing, to dance, to art, and to every creative work.  The important aspect is in communion and connection with the Creator.  Please let this article set you free to commune with Him as you are led.  Don’t try to define how to connect with Him by some rules and regulations that have been set forth by a group of people rather than by He, Himself.  He gave us His Word.  Anything in addition to that, just puts Him in a box.  Nobody has the right to tell you how to connect with the Creator.  Every one of us has been given different personalities, different gifts, talents and different, specific purposes in this life.  Our Creator speaks to us with a still, small voice deep in our spirits.  We don’t have to sing a certain song or recite a special prayer or read some special scripture to connect with Him.  If we can quiet our mind a bit, we will learn how to hear Him.  When that happens, your spirit will grow by leaps and bounds.  As you (the spirit) become stronger from feeding yourself (the spirit,) then the spirit will begin to assert its role as head over your soul and your body. This will, eventually, bring perfect balance to your health.  This is the mind, body, spirit connection.  Be well.

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Our brains are 2% of our total body weight but consume 20% of the air we breathe.

So what?  What’s that got to do with anything?  Well, to begin with, your brain controls every cell in your body, but here’s a list just to get you thinking:

• thoughts
• moods
• memory
• emotions
• attention
• vision
• taste
• touch
• hearing
• smell
• pain perception
• balance
• posture
• muscle tone
• digestion
• heart rate
• blood pressure
• breathing
• bladder function
• sexual function
• hormone production
• immune response

You can imagine the negative effects in these areas if sufficient oxygen is not taken into our bodies.

Our body is a very complex machine, but – in a nutshell – here’s how it works (as far as oxygen intake goes.)  Every breath you take converts to energy. All human cells, especially your brain/nervous system cells called neurons, need energy to do their job. All cells use blood sugar (glucose) and oxygen to create Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP), the energy source that fuels cell function.  If your cells need more energy, they use more oxygen. That is why your breathing rate increases when you exercise. If your cells do not receive enough oxygen, they produce less energy.

You derive oxygen/O2 from the air you breathe. There is plenty of evidence that our air contains less oxygen now, especially in densely populated metropolitan areas. Air pollution levels are constantly increasing. Living at higher elevations puts you at an automatic disadvantage – the higher the elevation, the less the oxygen content of the air your breathe.

Another problem is that most people don’t breathe well. Many are shallow breathers (breathing only to the chest level.) This seems to be more the case with our increasingly sedentary life styles and when we are chronically stressed. This leads to less oxygen transfer in the lungs with devastating consequences for our brain function. But even those people who aren’t chronically stressed and aren’t sedentary still don’t know how to breathe properly (deep belly breathing.)  Check our recent radio shows on stress on this website (www.hipeli.com.)  Go to the radio show tab and check out episodes 6 and 7.  They both have breathing video demonstrations that are quite helpful.

The brain demands at least 20% of the body’s oxygen supply, when it doesn’t get this supply it can lead to issues such as sleep apnea, poor concentration, forgetfulness, mood swings, restlessness, depressive thoughts and low drive.  So, where do we go from here?  Let’s start with what we can control and that being our breathing.  Start breathing deeper, from the belly not the chest area.  Learn how to breathe correctly and it will, not only maximize your oxygen absorption, but also will naturally calm your body.  It helps your body manage stress among other things.  Remember, breathe deeply, be at peace, and live long and prosper.  J www.hipeli.com

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The symptoms caused by the hormonal imbalance can be easily controlled and brought into balance naturally through:

1.  phytotherapy (herbal remedies) that address all 3 hormones involved:  estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.

• Black Cohosh, Red Clover, and Kudzu form a powerful and synergistic isoflavone–glycoside complex that diminishes symptoms associated with estrogen deficiency, like hot flashes and night sweats.
• Passionflower, Chasteberry, and Wild Yam are botanicals that have been used by traditional cultures to treat symptoms like irritability, anxiety, and insomnia. Recent studies show that the flavonoids in these herbs may mimic the actions of progesterone.
• Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb known to have aphrodisiac and mood-stabilizing properties. Recent studies suggest it activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, influencing production of androgens in an adaptogenic fashion.

These are only a handful that are common in treating perimenopause symptoms and balancing hormones.  For example, sepia and kali phosphoricum are excellent in treating anxiety, nervousness and irritability as well.

2.  nutritional and diet changes. In addition to phytotherapy, you must be taking a high end pharmaceutical grade multivitamin daily, like Pure Encapsulations Nutrient 950 Take a B complex daily to guard against stress and for cellular function and circulation.  Vitamin C with bioflavanoids is necessary as is Vitamin E, and Omega Oils.  You need at least 600 mg daily of DHAs and EPAs and you can take up to 3,000 daily.  Be sure to include a good Omega supplement daily (like Pure Encapsulations’ Tri-EFA or BioPharmaScientific’s NanOmega)as well as they help form the synapses in the brain among other things.  Last, but not least on the vitamin side, take your calcium/magnesium daily.  Deficiencies in calcium and magnesium alone can cause insomnia.  Make sure you are eating protein every time you eat.  When you wake in the morning, be sure to eat breakfast within the first hour.  Foods to minimize are simple carbs, alcohol, and sugar.  Foods to eliminate are white, processed sugar, flour, pasta, etc.  Just know that these types of foods can and will make your symptoms worse.  Increase your greens (veggies) and fruits intake to 5 servings or more daily.  If this is too difficult try a green supplement like one that we sell, NanoGreens from BioPharmaScientific.  Finally, water, water, water.  Keep drinking the water – and make sure it is pure, filtered water too.

3.  and lifestyle changes that include de-stressing, exercising and sleeping regularly. It is important, if you want to ever feel “normal” again, that you start taking care of yourself.  Getting exercise daily is a must for you now.  It will help get you back on track and will give your body a great stress outlet.  Make sure any vigorous exercise is done early in the day.  If you wish to exercise in the evening, go for a relaxing walk.  Just know  that vigorous exercise, though good for you, if done too late in the day, will release too much of the hormone cortisol and you wont have ample time in the day to deal with it.  You will go to bed with that extra cortisol running through your body, which does do damage to your cells.  If you  haven’t been exercising, then start off with a daily morning and evening walk.  Make the morning walk more brisk and the evening walk more relaxed.  You will be surprised at how much this alone will improve your overall sense of well being and mood.  Also, take time for you.  If you are feeling like you are rushing too much, then slow down.  Who cares if you are late?  Really.  Your health is more important.  You may not get as much accomplished as you are used to, but you will feel better, and your body and your mind will love you for it.  On the days when you feel like you can, then get more done.  On the days when you can’t don’t.  And don’t feel guilty either.  Tell yourself that it is okay for people to be disappointed.  Throw your hands up in the air, smile and say, “Oh well.”  Seriously, this is good medicine to keep you sane during this transitional time.  Make sure you get a good night’s sleep.  Try drinking sleepytime tea and taking your last dose of calcium/magnesium at bedtime.  Finally, take life lighter, laugh more, watch comedy, dance, light candles, listen to salsa music or oldies, breathe lavender (seriously,) let your kids have fun, lighten the load a bit, don’t be so uptight about the house and your “normal” routine or obligations.  My best advise here is to force yourself to sing during the day.  Sing and laugh.  It will seriously release much healing endorphins and boost your overall mood.  Remember, this life is a gift.  Do what you can to savor it.  Live and live well.

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• boosting your immune system
• preventing cancer
• preventing heart disease
• reducing body fat
• lowering blood pressure
• fighting harmful bacteria and viruses
• helping the body regulate cholesterol levels, and
• yes, slowing the aging process!!!!!!!!!!   yeah!!!!!!!!!:)

Make sure when you drink it to not kill off the important nutrients by using boiling water.  use very hot water but not boiling.  If you like to boil water, then add a few ice cubes in the water and let them dissolve before adding the green tea.  Also, only drink varieties of green tea that are actually GREEN.  If the water is brown or yellow, you are not drinking the best.  The tea should be turning your water green.  Here’s a tip:  Costco sells a really high grade green tea for around $15 for 100 bags.  This is extremely cheap considering the quality of the tea – that being the very fine green tips.  Drink, be well, live long and prosper.

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Listen to the show here:

Download audio file (HPO080709.mp3)

Links mentioned in the show:

Adrenal Assist Nutrient 950 w/NAC NanoGreens

Running on empty:  the pros and cons of fasting

Seven out of ten kids have low vitamin D levels

Lack of Vitamin D in Children ‘Shocking’

Vitamin D and Kids:  How Much Sun Should They Get to Stay Healthy?

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Listen to the show here:

Download audio file (HPO073109.mp3)

Links mentioned in the show:

Feature Product:  NanoGreens

NanoGreens Ingredient List

Teens who move a lot have twice suicide risk

4 in 10 college kids are depressed, hopeless

Obesity Costs U.S. $147 Billion a Year

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Listen to the show here:

Download audio file (HPO072409.mp3)

More breathing videos:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links mentioned in the show:

Feature Product:  BioPharmaScientific NanoGreens

Daily Glass of OJ is Heart Smart

What Went In When Trans Went Out?

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Listen to the show here:

Download audio file (HPL20090717_episode_006.mp3)

Here is a breathing video I promised:)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links mentioned in the show:

Feature Product:  BioPharmaScientific NanoGreens

Extending lifespan:  Of mice and monkeys

Placebos Do Work:  Let’s Consider Why

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