Pretty Detox Posts

[msfntor]

Balance Exercises to Improve Your Strength

HERE: https://livenewsamerica.com/balance-exercises-to-improve-your-strength/

August 12, 2022 by LiveNewsAmerica

 

Len Kaplan began having difficulty walking in a straight line when he was in his 50s. Scoliosis combined with compressed discs in his back were causing his balance to deteriorate.

“Physical therapy, regular exercises, just wasn’t getting the job done. I needed something different,” Len, now 80, said.

Around that time Len and his wife, Ginny, took a cruise with twice-daily Tai Chi classes. Ginny, 77, said they loved Tai Chi — which consists of slow, controlled movements and deep breathing — so much they found a class in nearby Yorba Linda, Calif., when they returned home. The habit stuck.

Len and Ginny have now been taking Tai Chi and balance classes regularly for more than 15 years. Len is able to easily walk in a straight line and his balance has improved. Last September while visiting Greece, Len and Ginny decided to hike the nearly 100 steps to the top of the Acropolis. Up they went, over slippery, uneven steps with no hand rails. They made it to the top and were rewarded with ancient ruins and sweeping views of Athens below.

“At my age I know people who would go, ‘Oh no, I’ll stand at the bottom in the parking lot and take pictures, thank you,’” Ginny said, “but how fun is that?”

Balance training is an important but often-neglected skill, one that impacts both our longevity and our quality of life, beginning around age 40. A study in June by a Brazilian team found that 20 percent of the 1,700 older adults tested couldn’t balance on one leg for 10 seconds or more. And that inability to balance was associated with a twofold risk of death from any cause within 10 years.

If you have tried out the one-legged test (with a wall or chair nearby for safety) and didn’t pass, don’t panic. It’s never too late to start working on balance training, even if you can pass the 10 second test, especially if you’re over age 50. This doesn’t have to mean handstands and acrobatics. In fact, you can start at home without any equipment.

What the 10-Second Test Can (and Can’t) Tell Us

Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, yet doctors don’t have an easy way to check balance, like they do blood pressure or pulse. In this test, which can be done in less than a minute, the patient gets three attempts to do a 10-second one-legged stand on either leg.

“The idea here was just to come up with a really simple test that might be an indication of a person’s ability to balance,” said Dr. Jonathan Myers, a professor at Stanford University, researcher at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System and an author of the balance study. He said the inability to perform this task was powerfully predictive of mortality. In the study, one in five people could not manage it.

“With age, strength and balance tend to decrease and that can result in frailty. Frailty is a really big thing now that the population is aging,” Dr. Myers said.

Balance problems can be caused by a variety of factors, many of them age-related, said Dr. Lewis Lipsitz, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and the director of the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife.

When your vision is affected by cataracts, or the nerve signals from your feet to your brain slow down, this makes it more difficult to balance. While it’s impossible to prevent all types of age-related decline, you can counteract the impact on your balance through specialized training and building strength.

“There’s a downward spiral of the people who don’t go out, who don’t walk, who don’t exercise, who don’t do balance training, and they become weaker and weaker. And muscle weakness is another important risk factor for falls,” he said.

Researchers have previously connected balance and strength with mortality, finding that the ability to rise from the floor to a standing position, balance on one leg for 30 seconds with one eye closed and even walk at a brisk pace are all tied to longevity.

But no test is perfect. Dan Layne, who runs the Center for Balance, where Len and Ginny study Tai Chi, said the Brazilian paper caused a stir in his classes, which include balance and fall prevention. Many of his students, whose ages range from 30 to 105, tried it and failed. They approached him, worried.

“I’ve got a lot of people that can’t balance for 10 seconds, but their balance control is fine. They’re not falling and they’re living long lives,” Mr. Layne said. Even if your vision is impaired, or your coordination is affected by arthritis, you can improve your balance — at any age.

“The body is very adaptive. And if one pathway doesn’t work to maintain your balance, by training other pathways in the body and the brain you can overcome some disabilities,” Dr. Lipsitz said.

Balance-Enhancing Activities

Balance training goes hand-in-hand with strength training. The stronger the muscles in your legs, glutes, feet and core, the better your balance. You can improve your balance by taking Tai Chi or yoga classes, but weight training, dancing, rock climbing or aerobics classes are also excellent ways to work on your balance skills.

“Really any type of exercise seems to help with balance and fall risk,” said Dr. Avril Mansfield, a senior scientist at KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, who specializes in movement science.

But some forms of exercise are better than others. If your only movement is walking on a smooth surface, with no side-to-side movement, it’s not going to significantly improve your balance, said Dr. Rachael Seidler, a professor in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida.

If you really want to improve your balance, Dr. Seidler said, you’ll get the most benefit focusing on several specific exercises.

Training Your Balance at Home

So how do you get started? Fortunately, most balance training doesn’t have to require any special equipment, and you can start at home. As with any new exercise program, be sure to talk to your physician first, and have a chair nearby to grab onto if you feel unsteady.

Try these five balance exercises two to three times a week, gradually increasing the difficulty as you feel comfortable and start to improve your strength.

Stand behind a chair, holding on with both hands. Lift one leg off the ground, bending the lifted knee toward your chest and stand on one leg for five seconds. Repeat five times, then do the same with your other leg. Too easy? Hold onto the chair with one hand, release both hands or try closing your eyes.

Body-weight squats

Stand with feet hip distance apart, toes forward. Bend your knees and lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, keeping your weight in your heels. Extend your arms in front of you if you need help with balance, or squat lower if it’s too easy. Repeat 10 times. Hold a dumbbell to add to the difficulty.

Bird dog

Start on your hands and knees, back flat. Lift one leg straight behind you and lift the opposite arm straight in front, so you are balancing on one knee and one hand. Hold for five to 10 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

Stand behind a chair, holding on with both hands. Lift one leg to the side, trying to keep your body as still as possible. Repeat with the other leg, five times per side. Increase the intensity by holding the leg up longer or letting go of the chair

Tandem stance

Stand up straight and put one foot directly in front of the other, with your heel touching your toe. Keep equal weight on both feet, knees slightly bent. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch feet, repeating three times. Close your eyes to make it more difficult ..............

- by Hilary Achauer

[msfntor]

Bald eagle attacks $995 government drone midair over Lake Michigan

HERE: https://nypost.com/2020/08/14/bald-eagle-attacks-government-drone-drops-it-162-feet-over-lake-michigan/

 

America’s bird isn’t sharing the skies.

A bald eagle over Lake Michigan attacked and destroyed a government drone, which plummeted 162 feet into the Great Lake, MLive.com reported.

Environmental quality inspector and drone operator Hunter King had been out on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on the western side of the lake, tracking shoreline erosion near Escanaba on July 21.

King was about seven minutes into the task, flying a $995 Phantom 4 Pro Advanced quadcopter, before he began experiencing communication issues with the device. He reportedly used a “Go Home” recall button on the device controller that automatically set the drone on a course back to the pilot at a measly 22 miles per hour.

The drone, which the bird of prey took for a threat, was no match for the adult bald eagle — others like it have been known to reach top speeds around 99 mph. The midair crash sent the device spiraling down, falling at a rate of 30 feet per second, but not before sending out 27 warning signals in the 3.5 seconds that it took to hit the water below....

...

[msfntor]

Constant stress because of terrible news: psychologist reveals two effective methods against fear

 

The news situation is currently affecting many people...

One catastrophe after the other: This is the impression you get if you regularly deal with world news.

But the fact is: The good news rarely makes it onto the front page of the newspaper or into the news ticker of the news apps – but it still exists.

If you search specifically, you will find it.

This is how many are currently dealing with the current news situation: Targeted information instead of letting yourself be sprinkled*.

A good method to "create a bit of air between events and one's own feelings", quotes Deutschlandfunk from the psychiatrist Mazda Adli.

In the FOCUS interview, Felicitas Heyne, qualified psychologist and family therapist, lists two other sensible ways of dealing with current events:

 

Locking yourself at home sad or in despair does no one any good.

Such behavior even promotes mental illnesses such as depression.

We don't need to have a bad conscience when we're doing well, according to the psychologist.

In order to remain psychologically stable, it is important to “regularly replace the horrifying news images in your head with positive ones and thus consciously create a counterpoint”, says Heyne.

Another good way to deal with the current situation is to become active. Getting active helps against feelings of powerlessness...

"There are so many ways to get involved - be it through donations, collecting clothes, toys or medicine and taking them to aid organizations.. - everyone can do something," says the psychologist.

Taking action and becoming active helps against feelings such as fear and powerlessness.

In general, Heyne advises moderate media consumption:

"Especially for people who suffer greatly from it, it is currently important to set a time limit for media consumption so that you don't get lost in it".

 

- Source: merkur

 

[msfntor]

Get active

 

- " try wearing compression socks - these essentially relax and contract the leg muscles by stimulating blood flow - as well as avoiding certain sitting positions such as sitting cross-legged or sitting cross-legged at your ankles. .

There are also some things that can hinder healthy circulation in the legs.

This includes smoking, with one study even finding that exposure to cigarette smoke increases the risk of blood clots in the arteries.

On top of that, cutting down on alcohol can also help as alcohol puts pressure on the heart, not ideal when you want blood to flow smoothly throughout your body.

Along with these simple changes,

 

Walk often

 

Walking is such a natural movement for the human body.

In fact, 10,000 steps is the number we are advised to take each day.

Walking not only helps keep us fit, but also benefits our health.

Walking, either slowly or briskly, encourages blood flow around the legs and body.A study from the Harvard School of Public Health actually found that

just 30 minutes of walking a day reduces a person's risk of stroke by at least the 20%.

 

If 10,000 steps a day seem daunting, try breaking them up into blocks.

You could take a 30-minute walk in the morning, another at lunch, and then another in the evening.

Before you know it, you will have accumulated an impressive number of steps!"

 

Source: ansa

[XPerceniol]

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[XPerceniol]

On 8/15/2022 at 9:39 AM, msfntor said:

...Walking is such a natural movement for the human body....

In fact, the only true way to get our lymphatic system going is through our movements. Must try to stand up straight and allow spinal fluid to move. Very had sometimes but laying around is awful and I'm guilty as sin.

Edited August 17, 2022 by XPerceniol

[XPerceniol]

On 8/15/2022 at 9:39 AM, msfntor said:

...There are also some things that can hinder healthy circulation in the legs.

Definitely! Circulation is so important.

Very helpful and hope you're doing well; yourself ;)

[mina7601]

On 8/15/2022 at 4:39 PM, msfntor said:

Walk often

Walking is such a natural movement for the human body.

In fact, 10,000 steps is the number we are advised to take each day.

Walking not only helps keep us fit, but also benefits our health.

Walking, either slowly or briskly, encourages blood flow around the legs and body.A study from the Harvard School of Public Health actually found that

just 30 minutes of walking a day reduces a person's risk of stroke by at least the 20%.

If 10,000 steps a day seem daunting, try breaking them up into blocks.

You could take a 30-minute walk in the morning, another at lunch, and then another in the evening.

Before you know it, you will have accumulated an impressive number of steps!"

Thank you for the advice, I walk so often.

1 hour ago, XPerceniol said:

Very helpful and hope you're doing well; yourself

I hope the same!

[msfntor]

On 8/17/2022 at 7:44 PM, mina7601 said:

On 8/17/2022 at 6:42 PM, XPerceniol said:

Very helpful and hope you're doing well; yourself

I hope the same!

Exactly: better and better!

But some problems remain; I am looking forward to the solutions given by the Good Lord! A lot of successes have been manifested so far, so I have confidence!

Thank you all very much.

[msfntor]

Hospice Nurse Explains Why She No Longer Fears Death

HERE: https://www.sunnyskyz.com/happy-videos/11783/Hospice-Nurse-Explains-Why-She-No-Longer-Fears-Death

 

August 15, 2022

"Julie McFadden is a hospice nurse who posts about death and dying on TikTok.

The 39-year-old says her work has taught her so much about death and dying that she wanted to find a way to share what she's learned on a larger scale.

So, she started posting videos to TikTok as "Hospice Nurse Julie".

In one of her most popular videos, Julie explains why she no longer fears death.

 

Some of the comments on the video are just as wonderful:

"My grandpa woke up for 10 seconds before his final breath and told us it was beautiful, smiled, and passed," anonymity maybe wrote.

"My nephew died of a brain tumor at 6. The doctors told my brother and his wife how to explain dying to him when he was close. They told him that when the angels come to play it's OK to go play with them. He said 'I know mum, I met them already, my favourite one is Robert..." Assimilate78 wrote.

"After my sister passed, I heard her say 'I'm okay' and a rush of calm and peace," user1798727634884 wrote.

"My friend 33 passed and she looked at her husband and said 'it's more beautiful than we thought!' and died," user4211984618069 wrote.

"I asked my nana to send me a sign that she was okay- the moment she passed her favorite song came on the radio," Anissa Lotti wrote."

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@hospicenursejulie

https://www.tiktok.com/@hospicenursejulie/video/7110377268526058798

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by msfntor

[msfntor]

Special dog brings smiles to hospital patients in mental health unit

"... we're meeting Minnie the adorable miniature Shih Tzu who helps hospital patients with their mental health.

We all know how spending time with our pets boosts our wellbeing, so being on a ward away from your furry friend can be especially hard. That's why a hospital in Blackpool has recruited its latest - and cutest - volunteer, in the hope she will bring a smile to patients missing their own pooches." ...

 

HERE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/special-dog-brings-smiles-hospital-27785391 

[XPerceniol]

Very nice to read

Thank you for sharing that!

[mina7601]

@msfntor I agree with @XPerceniol, very nice and worth reading article.

[XPerceniol]

I hope you and otherss here @msfntor; @mina7601 and others also fine this helpful.

I came across this (well, it came up in my feed - darn algorithm - haha)

https://www.caringpets.org/animals-treatment-therapy-service-detection/

I DO feel animals helps people and I even said somewhere on here, I've seen the dog walking the person.

Also don't underestimate the power of nature: 

For you my friend as I know your strong faith keeps you strong and don't lose that faith, I guess I see God in everything, if you look at Gods creation. My Father was antsiest until the end and he turned to Jesus and I supported him and encouraged and found bible verses to bring him comfort during his leaving this awareness and taking into a new awareness. I hope that was ok that I said it that way, I don't want you to think I'm not being genuine - you're a good man with good heart. I am baptized catholic but came into my own understanding later in life, sadly my mother is almost leaving us, but we hardly ever talk and went close anyway. I tried to help her and go to church and find one for her, but I wasn't able and now too late as she no longer even knows her own name. She is taken care of.

Anyway ..

When I walk (yeah, need to actually do that, working on it) and see the trees and birds and wind, nature also helps us and what we 'put out' there 'comes back' (goes around; comes around). Put out into the universe and ask for support, never for needless things, health and wisdom and strength, crawl if at lowest point and pride takes a back seat.

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by XPerceniol

[msfntor]

On 8/21/2022 at 12:26 AM, XPerceniol said:

When I walk (yeah, need to actually do that, working on it) and see the trees and birds and wind

So, between us, you don't walk. What leads to your death, you know; it's suicide. That way you go against God's will, you sin. It's always your choice so far...walk to live or commit suicide by not moving.
If you die in this state of sin, you have worked hard to get to the HELL.
In HELL there are no trees and birds and wind.

So walking is only solution, now. Be brave!

I know that sometimes it's hard to walk...I myself try to walk twice a day, but of course in my recent condition it's painful in the end - if you want to win, you have to suffer. Doctor advised to walk 20 minutes all days, but I'm walking 2x1h30. All days. I prefer to suffer now and then see the end of the tunnel.