Good Bladder Habits

 

 This is another older blog post with more than 700 views. Here it is:-

 

 

"Habit of the Week” this week comes with a warning.  You may want to go to the toilet just reading about it.  

GOOD BLADDER HABITS

 1.       Drink two litres of fluid per day; include water, juices, and milk. 
Ahhh Coffee - special note.

   Restrict caffeine to 3 cups per day, if you don't have "urge"symptoms; Try and eliminate caffeine if urgency and frequency are problems.

2.    For that two litres go to the toilet 5 – 7 times to pass urine from when you get up to when you go to bed.

3.      Cut out ‘just in case’ visits to the toilet.

4.    Go to the toilet when you have a bouncy full bladder sensation rather than the urethral sensation

 

5.    All your life have good bowel function

 

6.   Never hover or strain to pass urine.

 

Makes you think about the habits of a lifetime and all those times mum said to go "Just in case".

30 20 10 Habit of the Week, not the weak

 Here is a reprise of my most-read-blog ever. It is an oldie, but a goodie.  I suggest, at this time of the year, we start in the pool.

Here is a challenge.  It is a modified H.I.IT., that's high intensity interval training.  The difference is,  I think it's do-able.

It is simple
     Walk for 30 seconds,
     Walk briskly or jog for 20 seconds
      Sprint hard for ten,  on the spot, I suggest.

If you are not fit or a beginner, 5 cycles of this is recommended.  If you are fit and want a bit of a challenge, 10 intervals.

HIIT is supposed to reduce the actual training time, while giving better results.

It is a variation on our 8 second sprint/12second walk that we have been doing in class.

Don't forget, our HIIT can be done on a stationary bike, or in the pool.

Messiah Thoughts

 Here is a note from Rev. Deb Bird.  She has co-authored the play which is embedded in our performance of the Messiah

In the 1800’s a music critic once hailed The Messiah as “the one great work that not only embodies a religion but has become a religion itself.” It was immediately popular when first performed in 1742 and has only increased in popularity ever since.

Although Handel’s masterwork has been a Christmas tradition since the 1790’s, its structure - from nativity to sacrifice to resurrection makes it an Easter story. Themes of peace, hope and redemption connect us with a very human telling of a salvic figure experiencing profound ostracism and abandonment before the story reaches that place where we can sing Hallelujah.

It’s an experience we can all relate to at some point in our lives. Things fall apart in quiet and life changing ways, and we dwell a while in grief and unknowing before the way forward emerges and we make tentative first steps toward the life we are yet to live.  It's a familiar pattern that makes a modern retelling both a completely natural and boldly ambitious move.

In this reimagining, a profoundly broken man converses with a priest about his experiences of war and the impacts of PTSD on his life and relationships. This is no attempt to minimise the complexities of PTSD, nor is it a suggestion that religion is its cure. This is, however, a conversation that explores the search for hope after devastation, firm in the conviction we are each worthy of healing, deserving of fullness of life, and that we each need companions on that journey.

I wish Kim, the musicians, choir, actors and all who have contributed to this heartfelt offering the very best for this performance and congratulate them on their own conviction that this is a story worth telling.

Rev’d Deb Bird

Spectacular Data

 I have just come across this story an article from 2013 Journal of Internal Medicine, December edition

"Early Response to Preventive Strategies in the Diabetes Prevention Program"

The article says that a 5% to 7% weight loss leads to a 54% reduction in your Type II diabetes risk. 

The Cost of Falls

 The article on falls aired on  Radio National ABC and  is included below.  Here is a link.  

Falls can be prevented.  Falls are costly to the individual, to society and to the economy $2.3billion.   Ouch.  

People who fall, lose confidence, stop volunteering and can become isolated. 

Here is the radio piece, have a listen:-

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/falling-costs-over-2-billion-per-year/101691692

Those four magic numbers

 There are things we should know about ourselves. Lots of things for our peace of mind and our health.  There are four important numbers that are indicators of our health.

Blood Pressure

Blood Sugar

Cholesterol

Bone Density.

I am prompted to write about this because of renal failure in a close friend.  There were no symptoms, still aren't.  The only way that this diagnosis came to light was by way of blood tests. So now my friend is closely monitored.  She keeps a two litre jug of water on the bench in her kitchen. 

Even though the numbers can be pointers to potentially scary problems, it is so important to know.  Then, if we know, we can take steps. Information is power.

Be brave, find out your numbers.  You have two months.

Habit of the week

Start making the appointments necessary to find out this bio-marking numbers.

They call osteoporosis the silent thief and hypertension, the silent killer.   No thanks.  Information is power.  

Nordic Walking - Let's give it a go

 Nordic Walking Australia says 

"Using Nordic Walking poles combined with the correct technique engages all muscles from head to toe, which makes for a very effective aerobic activity, easier than regular walking and a perfect way to enjoy the great outdoors."

Why is Nordic Walking beneficial? 

Using the Nordic walking poles:-

• Means the addition of upper body strength and co ordination.
• Aids in balance - there are four points of contact
• Improves posture as we walk  -  Nordic walking encourages head-up walking
• Leads to strong, secure and confident walking.  Because the poles assist in balance, we can stride out more strongly and keep our eyes forward, instead of downwards.  

It might be time to dust off our hiking poles, if we are aging or nursing an injury.

Here is a link to a You Tube video which shows technique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmsHhc2zCw

Back Pain.....Oh no!

Here are some tips from Bob and Brad to help prevent and manage back pain.  It starts with Posture. A sore lower back is a terrible thing -  every move you make seems to hurt.   So check out the You Tube link below, or show it to someone with a bad back.

When we slump forward reading or looking at a screen, or just out of habit, we can aggravate our lower back.  No thank you.  

So let's reset our posture:-

•     by sitting up straight, even in the car.   Straighten up the back rest of your car seat. 
•     A chin glide - just slide your face gently backwards - while keeping your neck long
•     If you are bending, lifting walking, maintain good posture And switch on your core muscles.

Here is the link to the You Tube: -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6i8roQRP2U

It used to be said that if you have a sore back, go to bed for a week.  Now, we know we need to keep moving, best of all,  if we can get into a pool that will work wonders for a bad back.  Exercise is anti inflammatory.  Yes please.

Arthritis......wait a minute

 I am enjoying Daniel Lieberman's "Exercised".  He is tackling the myth that our joints wear out.  He says if inactivity were good for arthritis, the lack of physical activity in the western world today should mean that arthritis should have just about disappeared.  Instead, it is the opposite.

I think that people with wear and tear issues with their joints have probably had injuries and trauma to the joints, which may not have recovered well or perhaps. people didn't get the rehab or physiotherapy they needed.

Arthritis Foundation says "if we don't use it, we lose it" and I say "if we do use it, we get it back".

Exercise is the best anti-inflammatory there is.  

By the way, we were away for the weekend.  I had access to an indoor heated pool.  I had four sessions in the pool........ah, bliss.   

My sore knee is a LOT better.   I can't wait for the aqua season.

It is the struggle that makes us stronger

 Comfort vs Struggle

Humankind has always sought inactivity, not movement.  We conserve our calories. We take a short cut; we take the lift, not the stairs; we love to get a handy carpark. As well, up until quite recently, calories were hard to come by.  Think, hunter gatherers or subsistence farmers.  Have you ever had to fetch water.   It is heavy. One litre of water is one kilogram.  Some women still have to fetch water every day.   

It is correct, we are predisposed to sit down.  But on the other hand, here is a contradiction, every society has danced.  It is like running, but more fun.  Exercise to music in class is great.  I like to say that the music drowns out the suffering.

Keeping our strength up keeps us young.  As our muscles waste away and we become frailer.  We don't grow old and slow down, we slow down and grow old.   

Where do we find the motivation for exercise.  Daniel Leiberman is his book "Exercised" says we have two choices:- We can make it necessary, or we can make it fun.

Put your head above your body - Habit of the Week

 I am reprising this great habit.   We discussed this in class today.  

For Our Homework,

Let's imagine having a soft weight on top of our heads, like a small beanbag.  Firstly, we must draw up the golden thread, so we have good alignment, and then press the top of your head upwards - imagine that weight up there.  This puts the head and neck in good alignment AND switches on the "core" muscles of the neck.  It should feel pleasant.  If this action hurts, back off a little and straighten up more.

Here is the earlier post with the all-important graphic.  May I say the graphic graphic.  

Our heads are very heavy. Even heavier when we look down. When we have our head forward or buried in a phone, we can't see our periphery very well either.  Mary Bond says watching for the bigger picture improves our posture and helps make us be more creative.   

The Guardian , 25th November 2014 had a great article Homa Khaleeli:- " Tech Neck,  How smart phones are damaging our spines".

We now know that "tech neck" gives us a pad of fat just below the neck, at the back, as well as the headaches and back aches between the shoulder blades. Head forward posture is the gift/torment that keeps on giving.  No thanks.

Here's the graphic from the article:- sorry about the pounds.

Change of season - Catch up

 Spring has arrived.  We are still experiencing cool nights AND days.

I understand that Mr. Putin is closing the gas pipeline, altogether for a while.  This has implications for food production, world-wide. I am expecting prices of food and fertilizer to increase. So, after a bad year in the garden,  I am cranking up the veggie patch just to spite Vlad. I am planting corn and cucumber, lettuce and kale.  I am thinking about potatoes.  

Speaking of food.  Strawberries are at their peak.  I drive past miles and miles of strawberry farms on the way to Brisbane.

I am reading "Exercised" by Daniel Lieberman.  He is an anthropologist, as well as an exercise physiologist professor at Harvard.  He explains our predisposition to inactivity - don't call it laziness.  Humanity has always conserved as much energy as possible.  So we are programmed to sit down. He sets out the benefits of exercise in evolutionary terms. 

For example, he says exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.  So exercise helps to ease the inflammation of modern stress.   I like it.

I am cooking "flavour bomb" vegetable dishes.  I like Yotam Ottelenghi's Cauliflower in Chilli Butter.  Wowie!  I am freezing cooked pumpkin.  I will turn it into pumpkin pie, ultimately.

I am enjoying "My Brilliant Friend" on TV  - A famous Italian novel by Elena Ferrente - it is on SBS

This would be a great time to join our choir.  We are turning the page and starting a new programme for Christmas, as well, we are learning the Messiah, for a very exciting production.  

We are going camping in Stanthorpe.  Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to have some cheerul walks in nature. Wish me luck.

I love exercising together with class members.  I have lots of new songs, which are fun.  I try them out with the grandchildren.  

Tuesday Class - Sandgate Town Hall, 10.00am

Monday 8.30am on line

Wednesday 9.00am on line.

Just email me for details.  It is so much fun,

v

There is an echidna in my patio

 I couldn't get a decent photo without disturbing him.  He waddled off into the garden. Very cute.

Emergency Plus app update

I've just received good feedback. Thanks, Katie. 

If you are short on time, go directly to the Playstore or Istore and get the App....Emergency Plus.  It is easy to operate.

It uses four ways of locating finding a location. 

1. Your address
2. Latitude and Longitude
3. The Map
4. What3Words.

The "What3Words"  idea actually originated in England.

You never know when an emergency is around the corner.

Emergency plus App - uses What3Words

 

“Emergency Plus” App

At a recent First Aid course, I learnt about a new method of precisely determining a location. 

Emergency Plus App - uses what 3 words

The entire map of Australia has been divided into a map of 3-metre grid squares.  Each square has been allocated three words. So, it is possible to navigate precisely to, say, our lounge room, our front gate or the north western corner of our backyard. These each have a discreet three-word label.

This is a plus for a groups who exercise or walk together.  If an ambulance or police are needed, tell the operator the three words and, say, the ambulance will know precisely where to go.  This means there is no need to send somebody to the front to wave them down.

For example, the back entrance to the Sandgate Town Hall – I’ve just looked it up is "seated-detail-libraries"

Here is the link:-

https://w3w.co/seated.detail.libraries

It was suggested, at the First Aid course, that at a workplace, the three words could be posted, up on a wall, in plain sight.

Meanwhile, don’t take my word for it.  Look up “what3words.com” for yourself. You could try finding your own front door. It's fun.

While you are at it – why not download the Emergency Plus app on your phone. Especially helpful if you do a lot of highway driving or bush walking  It gives easy access to the emergency services, without the need of typing in numbers.  Just hit the icon.

You can share your location using the three words. 

ps I've just received good feedback. If you are short on time, go directly to the Playstore and get the App....Emergency Plus.  It is easy to operate.

Habit of the Week - move your ribs

Let's move our ribs in a special way.  

We want to release the tension in our upper shoulders and release the tension in our ribs- mid chest.

It is easy.

Elbows tucked in - palms up

Rotate the arms out, slowly, leading with the thumbs.

Not even a habit, but a posture reset that is quick and easy.

What I am reading

 Winter time is indoor time.

Here is a random list of my activities:-

What I am reading:-

Now that I am no longer physically and mentally preparing for a Federal election, I have stopped reading my newspapers so much - Though the New York Times is still a thrill.

I am reading "Still Life" by Sarah Winman.  I love travelling to Italy with all its little quirks and its big art. This book is like a fairy tale for Italianophiles like me.  I love "Ciao Bella" by Katie Langbroek, too.  I don't want it to end. So I am dreaming about a trip to Italy next year.  Vorrei andare in Italia.

I am singing:-

"Ombra Mai Fu" in other words, Handel's Largo. And in choir "This is me"

I am listening to:-

Andrew Huberman's podcast.  He is a Neurobiologist and Opthamologist at Stanford.  His Huberman Lab Podcasts are worth a listen. Here is a link:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNCwdFxPtE8

What I am growing:-

What a summer we had! Or didn't have!  So much has gone wrong, weather-wise, that I am humbled by the failure of the plants - I'm licking my wounds a little. I am preparing to plant the Ranunculus for spring and summer flowers.  I am watching my broccoli very closely.  It is so cold, here that it is all growing very slowly. 

Habit of the Week - Put your head on top of your body

 

Our heads are very heavy. Even heavier when we look down. When we have our head forward or buried in a phone, we can't see our periphery very well either.  Mary Bond says watching for the bigger picture improves our posture and helps make us be more creative. 

Here is an update of a previous blog post.   

The Guardian , 25th November 2014 had a great article Homa Khaleeli:- " Tech Neck,  How smart phones are damaging our spines".

We now know that "tech neck" gives us a pad of fat just below the neck, as well as the headaches and back aches between the shoulder blades.   Head forward posture is the gift that keeps on giving.  No thanks.

Here's the graphic from the article:- sorry about the pounds.

Posture Ideas from Mary Bond

"The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit Stand and Walk - Talks at Google  - Mary Bond"

"Pandiculation -Most mammals do this 50 times a day. We feel a little sheepish doing this in public"

It is the stretch and the tension at the same time.  Mary suggests we probably do some form of this when we wake up.  I have this combination when I yawn. It does feels good.

Another interesting thought from Mary Bond:-  Our periphery.  

Those human ancestors of ours had to forage and hunt. So we are very good at regarding the periphery while we do another task.  For instance, unlike the famously clumsy Gerald Ford, we can walk and chew gum at the same time.  Or we can easily walk AND talk. Mary says when we take in our wider horizon, even while we look at the mobile, we are more creative.  

Micro movements

Discover what these movements in the "Google Talk".  Here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7emPAZByLk

An easy entry to Gratitude Practise

Last week, in class, we discussed Andrew Huberman's insight into gratitude practise.  He is professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

By using this simple technique, our mind enters into a state of gratitude - It is a shortcut to a meditation session. 

The whole session needs only last two minutes and it involves two parts - 

Firstly, focus on a person. It can be a famous person or not, someone who inspires you..  Someone who has been kind.

Secondly focus on a story about this person that shows gratitude.  

Sit with this feeling of gratitude for a minute or two.  

Here is the link to the YouTube:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F6HoCxQonE&t=361s

Let me know how it goes for you.