According to a 2012 Gallup poll, over 40 percent of Americans are stressed.  Stress can be the unseen boogey man living under the bed for many of us, affecting our sleep and our lives in general. Our own bodies release cortisol, a stress hormone, during “fight-or-flight” situations. This can increase blood sugar and aid in metabolizing nutrients, all while reducing immune system function and bone formation.  All of these are highly beneficial in a high-risk situation. However, for the average person, maintaining this level of high alert can be detrimental to our bodies and our health.

What one may not know is that cortisol can affect fat storage and weight gain in stress prone people.  This translates into the unhealthy abdominal fat, otherwise known as visceral fat.   This excess fat is thought to raise one’s risk for diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.

However, there are ways to fight the fat! For a reduction that engages the body, brings balance, emphasizes mindfulness of actions and awareness of self, consider joining the 11 million Americans who practice yoga. The benefits have been studied time and time again, and the world is in agreement—it can help to reduce your stress levels, lower your blood pressure, help aid weight loss, and even keep those cortisol levels in balance to provide you with an overall healthier lifestyle.

As exercise, yoga increases the heart rate and promotes increased oxygen use by our cells and our being. Unlike many high intensity training sessions, yoga allows us to be active and gain a quick endorphin boost without raising cortisol levels. These endorphins naturally elevate one’s mood and act as painkillers for the body, lowering stress levels and aiding in an individual’s ability to relax. Instructors encourage deep breaths to allow for more oxygen to the brain, producing a calming effect on the mind and body.

But it’s so much more than just those feel good endorphins! By using relaxation techniques, including meditation, to engage the mind, body and soul, the benefits of yoga go beyond the physical.  The ability to sit still, decompress one’s thoughts, and allow the mind to be free of worry is why participants of yoga and meditation have significantly lower stress levels compared to those who do not engage in those activities. By focusing on present tasks, rather than dwelling on all our other daily stressors, one can find his or her peace. This is the purpose of meditation- to clear our minds and bring our bodies to a calm state, evident by a slower pulse and heart rate.

The health benefits associated with yoga continue to be promoted by physicians and even employers. Many Fortune 500 companies such as Apple, Forbes and Nike offer classes to their employees as a way to combat stress and to keep their workers happy and motivated. Exercise has been linked not only to lower stress levels but also to increased cognitive functions like memory. Companies are taking the time to invest in the healthy lifestyle that yoga embodies and so should you.

Elissa Lappostato, co- founder of Prajjali and yoga teacher, suggests these five poses for those looking for some cortisol reduction.

Cat Pose (Majariasana)

As its name suggests, this pose mimics the movements of felines. Majariasana promotes movement in the spine, allowing your lower and upper back to remain flexible and free from pain, which is often caused by stress. What is great about this is that it helps eliminate tension that is already there and prevents tension from occurring in the future. This pose also opens up the chest cavity allowing for increased lung capacity and improved blood circulation. Majariasana helps reduce stress even more by gently massaging the abdominal organs. The movements used in this pose help alter and relieve pressure that is often put on internal organs.

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

Often used to transition between poses, Uttanasana, also works as a great stress reliever when used alone. This pose requires the individual to start by standing upright with hands resting on their hips. As he/she begins to bend forward, they set their focus on keeping the weight evenly distributed on their heels. One can continue by bending their elbows and holding on to each elbow with the opposite hand. Uttanasana focuses on stretching the hamstrings, calves, hips, knees, and thighs. Long hours in the office and sleepless nights are far too common in the workplace. These two stressors are responsible for tight backs. By focusing on releasing tension on the back and legs, staying in this position for just two minutes can help relieve different levels of stress ranging from fatigue to acute depression.

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

Known as the Corpse Pose, Savasana requires a person to quite literally remain in what appears to be a corpse-like state. This pose requires they lay on the floor with eyes closed and hands facing up. Stress causes muscles to tense up which can eventually lead to different aches and pains in your body. As one lies in this position, their muscles have no choice but to loosen up and release tension. Aside from helping release stress, this pose can also be used to reduce insomnia and improve sleeping patterns.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

The Balasana pose mainly focuses on the thighs. Overall, this pose helps regulate and calm the body by helping to stabilize circulation and encourage steady breathing.  Since the body tends to hunch over during inhalation in this position, it encourages the spine to lengthen and widen, thereby relieving back and neck pain, which may be a result of stress.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

This pose helps stretch the chest, neck, legs and spine. Since your chest is elevated in this position, it causes lung capacity to increase, thereby encouraging deeper more stabilized breaths. This controlled breathing is great for alleviating stress because it eliminates the increased heart rate associated with it. By encouraging a lower heart rate, this pose is especially beneficial to those who suffer from high blood pressure.

Do you want to know more about the different types of yoga available, and how they can help lower your cortisol levels and ultimately your stress? Prajjali.com offers an opportunity to try a variety of styles, from hot to Vinyasa yoga, with no commitment to a single style.  With participating studios in California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Texas, the Prajjali Pass can offer you the flexibility you need to experience yoga for yourself.

Prajjali Partnering California Studios:

• Be Yoga- Palo alto
• Adhikara Yoga- San Francisco
• Purusha Yoga Studio- San Francisco
• Almaden Yoga- San Jose
• Yoga Community- Sonoma

Melissa Burton, based in Pasadena, is a woman of many talents. Owner of the website thevalentineRD.com, she also is a Registered Dietitian (RD), Certified Diabetes Educator, and holds a Certificate in Adult Weight Management (CDE) from AND.

In addition to her expertise in nutrition and as a diabetes educator, Melissa has a certification in weight management, but she does not consider her specialization to be weight loss.  “My objective as an RD is to educate people about food and nutrition and to help them recognize their eating patterns,” she says.  “Many people seek the counseling of an RD to lose weight, but weight loss is not only about calories in versus calories out and eating ‘healthy’ foods.  People eat not just to sustain life in the metabolic sense, they eat for many more reasons than sustenance.”  She maintains that there is always an emotional, social, financial, educational and lifestyle component to why, what, when, how and how much people eat.

To help her patients and clients lose weight without restricting calories, she tries to educate people about food and take the demonization out.  “In my mind there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods just like you are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ if you eat certain foods,” she says.  “There is a place for every kind of food that someone likes in a healthy lifestyle.  There are some foods that are healthier than others and I encourage people to eat foods that are as close as possible to how they were when they either came out of the ground, or off a tree, or with minimal processing.”

Teaching people what carbohydrates, proteins and fats are can be very eye opening to people.  Melissa believes that that learning to read food labels, and noticing the number of ingredients listed on food labels, can allow people to make educated empowered choices about the foods they choose to eat.

In her experience, restriction of any kind such as calories and specific foods creates what she calls the ‘boomerang’ or ‘Hoover’ effect.  “The chronic sense of deprivation sends someone from being strictly adherent to what they’ve been avoiding to doing the absolute opposite,” she says. “They Hoover or vacuum up the thing they’ve been avoiding and they cannot stop.  Finding a way to include foods that are considered ‘triggers’ or ‘slippery slope’ foods is also very important in achieving a heathy eating mindset.  Helping people to gain confidence in their own abilities to choose foods or give themselves permission to eat foods formerly considered ‘bad‘ are major steps toward a lifetime of healthy eating and living versus the ‘I need to diet to lose weight’ mentality.”

We need to eat multiple times a day just in order to live.  There are people who eat to live and others who live to eat.  Melissa believes that a healthy lifestyle can be a blend of both.  “My nutrition practice speciality is women’s health,” she says.  “I find that many women become interested in nutrition beyond the vanity phase before and during pregnancy.  This is a time when women are open to learning about nutrition and when special attention to the growing of another human being, or two, is of the utmost importance.”

When asked if there are any specific foods that assist with weight loss, she says that there are not any specific foods per se, but consuming adequate fiber in the diet can certainly help with satiety and regular elimination of solid waste.  “Fiber requirements for women are 25g per day and 38g per day for men,” she says.  “The average American does not meet this with daily intake.  Many nutrient-dense plant-based foods like fruit and vegetables are high in fiber so in the effort to lose weight, I do advocate fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains and water.  This is  because in addition to increasing nutrient intake these foods increase fiber intake and help people feel full for longer.  If people do not properly hydrate, the increased fiber can lead to constipation.  With fiber one always needs adequate hydration of at least 30 ml per kg body weight, more if exercising or depending on climate.

Melissa does not generally recommend dietary supplements for people who want to lose weight.  “However,” she says, “if one’s intake does not meet all of the daily vitamin and nutrient needs sometimes a multivitamin may be in order.  Also asking your doctor to check at blood draws for nutrient deficiencies such as Vitamin D, B12, or calcium (especially for women) may help optimize metabolism with supplements if nutrient deficiencies are detected.”  A multivitamin can often act as an appetite stimulant in those with long term poor intake history.  Once the body receives missing nutrients on a regular basis, it often begins to give signals of hunger to replete stores.

While for some people hormone imbalances may be hindering their weight loss efforts, stress, sleep and intake patterns can also have an effect on weight loss efforts.  If stress, sleep, intake changes and exercise do not have positive effects on weight loss, she recommends a blood work panel to check thyroid hormones, insulin levels, or in women to test for androgens (male hormones) that may play a part in PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) which all may prevent expected weight loss.

The most important piece of advice she can give to someone that wants to lose weight is to find a way to make healthy eating a part of one’s lifestyle, not just go on a diet.  “As an RD, I hate that my professional title has the words ‘die’ and ‘diet’ within a helping profession,” she says.  “However, I am proud to be a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN, the newest term for RDs) because we are the nutrition experts.  Anyone in the world can call themselves a Nutritionist but Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RD or RDN) have standardized formal and practical education requirements that need to be met before being eligible to take and pass the Registered Dietitian exam.”  Indeed, RDs and RDNs must also take 70 continuing education credits every five years to keep themselves in good professional standing.

Melissa adds, “Most people know that exercise, healthy eating, sleep, moderate stress and proper hydration are keys to losing weight but what we eat and the way we live is more than the sum of science.  It’s imperative that someone starting on weight loss journey find their own measure of support, patience and the willingness to learn.”  She maintains that it is important not to let the pills, cleanses and diets promising a new body, and a new life, play upon one’s insecurities.

“Your mind is the most important part of a weight loss effort,” she says.  “With nutrition education comes empowerment and the beginning of a healthy lifestyle on one’s own terms.”

Santa Barbara-based Alexandra Williams, along with her twin sister, Kymberly Williams-Evans, has an infectious energy that has been a feature of their active lives almost from the day they were born.  Raised by a mother who taught modern dance, they spent many childhood years acting and dancing in musical theatre. In their teens they took up soccer, and in 1982 Kymberly went to Germany to teach English and dance, only to discover a studio that taught a new type of movement called aerobics. Alexandra promptly joined her in the still-divided city.  “Aerobics was all high impact and leg warmers,” she says.  “We did a weekly exercise show on the military channel there, plus taught at the first Berlin aerobics studio.”

Alexandra wanted to study Russian language and literature, so she moved back to the States and started teaching exercise classes locally in order to support herself. “Little did I know I’d still be teaching and traveling the world with fitness thirty years later,” she says.  “I teach in the Exercise Studies department at UC Santa Barbara. Besides that, I work on our blog FunAndFit.org, which is geared toward boomer women who want to age actively, I write for print magazines, I co-host a radio show, and I mentor new instructors. I also compel my boys to walk the dogs with me.”

A frequently-asked question put to Alexandra and her sister is where to start if someone wants to lose weight. Her answer begins with a question, “What’s the least you can do?” She says that it sounds counter-intuitive, but “usually people make a grand, general plan, say, I want to lose 50 pounds, yet have no idea what the small steps are to get to the end goal.”  Her advice is to make a list of the ten steps needed to get from 1 (where you are now) to 10 (50 pounds lost). “The steps must be measurable, specific and realistic.” They have written blog postings to flesh this out in more detail.  

When asked for tips for someone who doesn’t have access to a gym, she rubs her hands together.  “But of course,” she says.  “If you can get outside, walk around the block. Having said that, I live on a mountain, so a walk around the ‘block’ would take a few days! You can do lots of movement in your house – pushups against the kitchen counter, sit-to-stand squats while watching television or sitting down to dinner. You start to sit, then stand back up, then sit. Do this every time you go to sit down and you’ll have added a lot of squats to your day.”  She adds that rudimentary weights can be made out of five pound bags of rice for bicep curls, or to perform ab crunches. Even a can of tuna can be enlisted (see video).

When asked for the best exercise for those with over 20 pounds of fat to lose, Alexandra’s answer is simple. “The one you’ll do.” Sometimes people want to know the quickest, or most effective when they say “best,” but the truth is “an exercise is only effective if you do it. So choose one you’ll enjoy, or at least do. Having said that, if someone is trying to lose 20 pounds in a hurry, they are best off with High Intensity Interval Training. But if the extra 20 pounds is hard on the joints, this type of training is contraindicated.”

Alexandra is often asked who her fitness mentors are and why, and her answer is consistent. “My mom was a modern dance teacher with five young kids, yet she found a way to teach dance and include us. So she instilled a love of movement in me. Then my twin sister Kymberly and I went from playing college soccer to teaching aerobics back when it was new. My sis was the one who convinced me to move to Berlin and start teaching over thirty years ago, so that worked out rather well.”  There are some industry professionals that she really likes because they offer “fun, safe and effective workouts,” but they did not mentor her.

A lot of people start exercising regularly, but still struggle to lose some extra pounds. In Alexandra’s experience, the key factors that prevent people from losing weight despite regular exercise are that they probably have not changed their eating or sleep habits. “If you exercise intensely for an hour and manage to burn 600 KCals, then drink a frou-frou coffee drink, you just drank back those 600 KCals in three minutes, which is very disheartening. On the bright side, people who start including strength training as part of their routine may gain weight as they build muscle, yet will find their clothes loose-fitting.”  She advises people to dump the scale “unless using it to do overhead presses!”

Hormone imbalances may hinder people’s weight loss efforts, particularly during menopause, and tests can be preformed to diagnose the imbalances. Alexandra recommends her colleague Tamara Grand, a personal trainer and fitness author who has a whole series on this.  

Any training regimen that can be offered to a client who says they strictly wants to lose weight depends on the client’s history, schedule, motivation, “and how many delicious snacks she brings me!”  In general, Alexandra recommends starting with:

She says that these may seem “boring, yet are extremely effective.“

When asked about how much weights versus cardio women in their forties should do, Alexandra laughs.  “They are friends,” she says, “so there is no ‘versus.’ They need to work together. A woman in her forties needs to do both. How much, how often, how long, and what type depend on the woman, but a good place to start is 50/50. If she is a new exerciser, then three days a week, 60-90 minutes at a time is a good place to start. And ladies, go big. You are not doing bodybuilding (unless you really are), so you aren’t going for one rep maximum. You are going for health, energy and looks, right? So work up to at least 8-10 pound barbells in each hand if you are using free weights.”

When one is trying to lose weight or get in shape, goals are all important, so what should they set out to accomplish, and what would be a healthy time frame to to accomplish the goal of losing 20 pounds?

“Follow the ten-step outline I mention above,” she says. “If you don’t write down specific steps, you have no idea how to get to your end goal. And it’s best to lose 1.5 – 2 pounds per week. If you diet and lose lots of weight quickly, that’s exactly how fast you’ll gain it back. How long did it take to put on those 20 pounds? Yeah, frustrating. But healthy and realistic. And remember, the goal is to lose weight and keep it off, not lose it repeatedly.”

Good advice.

There are many people that no matter what they do, they just can’t lose the weight they want, leading them to the mistaken impression that it is a due to their genetics. When people can’t lose weight despite following the typical healthy criteria, I find their issue is related to stress and poor gut flora. These are important factors in a person’s fat accumulation that most people are unaware of. I combat these using techniques in meditation and Chi Gong to improve your inner energy and the balance of hormones.

Under stress your body releases the hormone cortisol, which in studies has been shown to store fat and burn muscle. The reason it does this is because our body interprets stress as a possible famine and begins to prepare for it by creating visceral fat. This is fat around the organs, occurring in the mid-section. Cortisol is a true yin/yang or opposite to testosterone because testosterone burns fat and builds muscle. So in order to lose weight we want more testosterone and less cortisol.

Environmental Stress Can Effect Your Weight

There are many environmental factors today that cause stress such as smog, chemicals in food, radiation from computers and cell phones, as well as our jobs, relationships, etc. The solution to this is finding relaxation with specific techniques to fight stress. Many people who start meditation or chi-gong often unexpectedly lose weight without understanding why, and the reason is that it lowers cortisol and raises testosterone, as well as raises your inner energy levels, immunity, and what the Chinese call your “Chi”. Simple techniques for this can be found at www.TheArtofUnity.com/ChiGong

Here you will find short Chi Gong videos for Weight Loss and Digestion designed to bring your body (and mind) to their healthiest and most energetic states. This is perfect for new practitioners to help combat environmental stress, and transform internal stress into a source of energy and relaxation. On a more complex level it clears toxins, improves circulation to the organs and intestines, boosts metabolism, releases emotional attachments, and energizes your chakras.

Gut Flora

I also advise my clients to be aware of the health of their gut bacteria, since it is an important factor in eliminating excess weight. This determines many factors in the health of your digestion. If you have poor gut bacteria (as most people do) this can lead to “leaky gut syndrome.” Studies have found that leaky gut syndrome, often caused from a lack of good bacteria in your gut (aka gut flora) also causes visceral fat. Along with a healthy diet, taking probiotics, or better yet, eating fermented foods can help seal and protect your gut from leaky gut.

Fermented foods include Fermented Vegetables, Kefir, Natto, or Kombucha. I would always avoid commercial brands and make these yourself. Simple ways to make Kefir and Fermented Vegetables are available on my blog at (www.TheArtofUnity.com) If you are going to take a probiotic I would recommend one with at least 20 billion CFU taken with an organic Psyllium Husk Fiber.

Studies have also found that your gut bacteria most probably influences food cravings and thereby play a part in determining dietary choices. Meaning if you have mostly bad bacteria you will crave sugar and other unhealthy foods. Further, multiple studies have shown that obese people have different gut bacteria than slim people.

The good news is this can be controlled with awareness, as explained in my blogs on the importance of gut bacteria. In one recent study, obese people were able to reduce their abdominal fat by nearly 5 percent, just be drinking kefir for 12 weeks.

The living bacteria in your digestive tract form an important “inner ecosystem” that influences countless aspects of physical and mental health, including your weight and ease with which you are able to lose weight.

These two important aspects of losing weight work hand and hand with typical health practices that most people are aware of, such as:

• Eat only organic fruits and vegetables, if you eat meat choose organic free-range chicken and grass-fed beef.
• Eat healthy fats, such as those from olive oil, avocados, raw butter, and free-range organic animals if you choose to eat meat.
• Avoid sugar, empty carbs, processed foods, sodas, and fruit juice.
• Drink a lot of purified water.
• Exercise (preferably high intensity) at least 4 days a week.
• Get 8 hours of sleep per night.

Sources:

• articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/06/probiotics-bacteria-gut-digestive-health-immune-system.aspx
• articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/12/is-a-leaky-gut-causing-you-to-pack-on-the-pounds.aspx
• www.naturalnews.com/036331_gut_flora_weight_loss_body_fat.html
• www.lauralondonfitness.com/blog/healthy-living-articles-by-laura/meet-cortisol-the-fat-storage-hormone
• www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53304

Lower back injuries are very common. In fact, according to the American Chiropractic Association, 31 million Americans experience lower back pain. The last thing that most people with back pain want to do is exercise, however, core exercises that strengthen muscles and support the spine will reduce pain and pressure on the spinal column. Core strengthening and stretching also helps the spinal cord get the nutrients and fluids it needs. It is important to see a doctor before starting an exercise program because not all lower back injuries are the same. This article contains exercises and stretches that your doctor may suggest. It is important to ease into an exercise program at your own comfort and increase or lower the suggested parameters of each exercise based on how you feel. Never exercise to the point of pain.

Stretching

Stretching the lower back will reduce pain and pressure. While stretching, go slow, do not bounce, and do not stretch beyond your limits. You will gain flexibility and be able to progress each stretch with practice.

Lie on your back with both legs on the mat. Slowly bend one knee to chest while the opposite leg remains straight and on the floor. Hold knee into chest for 15-30 seconds. Do 2-3 repetitions per leg.

Modification: If you are having difficulty keeping bottom leg straight, bend bottom leg with foot on the mat.

The reclined hamstring stretch is good for relieving sciatica. Lie on a mat and raise one leg as high as you can while keeping your butt and bottom leg on mat. Grab the back of your raised leg at the hamstring or back of the knee and gradually pull knee towards your chest. Hold stretch for 15-30 seconds and do 2-3 repetitions per leg.

Lie on back with knees bent and feet on the mat. Have your arms spread out. Slowly rotate knees to the ground using your feet as a pivot point. Concentrate on keeping your shoulder blades on the ground. Turn your head in the opposite direction of where your knees are pointing. Do 2-3 repetitions and hold stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Lie on your stomach and prop yourself onto your elbows, raising your chest off the mat and keep your hips on the mat. If you do not feel discomfort, straighten your elbows to further extend the back and keep your hips on the mat. Do 2-3 repetitions and hold stretch for 15-30 seconds.

This stretch is good for elongating and taking tension off the spine and decompressing nerves between vertebras. With a physio ball, lie on your back letting the curvature of the ball stretch and extend your back. Hold for 20-45 seconds and do 2-3 repetitions.

Strengthening Core Muscles

Kneel on a mat with both hands placed shoulders width apart. Clinch your abdomen. Lift alternative leg and arm. Hold extended arm and leg for 10-20 seconds and then repeat on the other side. Do 2-3 reps per side

Stand two feet from wall and lean into wall. Bend knees at a 90 degree angle. Hold for 30-45 seconds and do 2-3 repetitions.
Lie on back with knees bent and feet on the floor. With arms supporting back of neck raise shoulders off ground. Hold crunch for 1 second and return to mat. Do 3 sets of 20.

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the mat and your knees bent. Keep your back flat against the mat. Clinch your abdominal muscles and slightly bend your pelvis upwards. Hold pelvis upwards for 10 seconds. Do 2-3 repetitions.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the mat and arms at your sides, and breathe in. Exhale as you press your feet into the mat and squeeze your butt and raise your hips off the ground one vertebrae at a time.  Inhale at the top and then exhale as you lower your back to the floor. Do 2-3 repetitions and hold for 10-15 seconds.

Aerobic (cardiovascular exercise)

In addition to strengthening your core, low impact aerobic exercises like swimming, biking, and walking will reduce body fat that is additional weight which strains your vertebra. Exercises like yoga and Pilates are also useful for reducing lower back pain.