Exercise To Combat Osteoporosis: Skeletal Fitness: A Workout For Your Bones by Mirabai Holland, MFA ©2011

One of the symptoms of menopause is bone loss.
44 million of us are at risk for Osteoporosis. The vast majority are women.
Women often develop Osteopenia (low bone mass that can lead to Osteoporosis) in the first few years after menopause because they lose bone-protecting estrogen. But, we can prevent and help reverse the effects of Osteoporosis by working out our bones.
The good news is since bones are living tissue they can become denser with weight bearing and resistance exercise.
When working out your bones it’s important to load the areas most at risk for fracture: the spine, the hip, and the wrist.

Here are 3 easy Bone Loading exercises, one for each of those areas, you can do using a pair of hand weights or a couple of soup cans. Use a weight that makes the exercise feel somewhat hard after 8 reps. Remember to always exhale on the exertion. Do 8-15 reps of each of these exercises. Start where you’re comfortable and build up.
And of course always consult your doctor before beginning this or any exercise program.

Double arm row: Loads Spine

Start with arms in front of you, weights together.
Slowly row arms back, bending elbows bringing weights to chest height.
Squeeze shoulder blades together, without shrugging your shoulders.

Lunge – Loads Hip and Femur (thigh bone)

Stand tall, feet about shoulder width apart, hands and weights at your sides.
Keep body erect and lunge forward with left foot, bending both knees to help facilitate the move. (Right heel comes off the floor). Your front knee should be aligned over the second toe of that foot and your weight should be centered between your front and back foot.
Hold for 8 seconds, (remember to breathe) return to starting position and repeat lunging with right foot.

Wrist Curls

Hold arms in front of you palms up.
Using only your wrists, curl weights toward your body until knuckles are facing the ceiling.
Slowly lower and repeat.

Remember, it’s never too early or too late to start working out your bones!
For more information on Mirabai's Skeletal Fitness Workouts please visit http://www.easyexercisevideos.com

When NOT To Exercise By Mirabai Holland, MFA © 2011

Mirabai Holland M.F.A. legendary fitness pioneer is one of the leading authorities in the Health & Fitness industry, and a public health activist who specializes in preventive and rehabilitative exercise for people. Her Moving Free® approach to exercise is designed to provide a movement experience so pleasant it doesn't feel like work. www.easyexercisevideos.com

For a week now I have been nursing the flu. I’ve been mostly in bed and its very frustrating. I can feel the fitness juice draining out of me. Several times I’ve thought of getting out of bed, putting on my sneakers and each time, my body, my lungs and my head have said “whoa maybe this is a bad idea”.
So, resting on an elevated pillow, feet up, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that there are times when being physically active can do more harm than good.
Now that I have nothing else to do I’m making a list of when not to exercise.
When You Are Sick
If you’ve got a cold and it’s not severe you CAN exercise without making yourself sicker. Your body will probably tell you to back off the intensity and you should listen. So just do a maintenance workout.
The Flu however is not to be messed with. Influenza kills several thousand people a year. Your body is under siege from a virus and you need to win that battle. Rest. Don’t exercise.
With A Fever
The Flu is often accompanied by a fever because your immune system is fighting off infection. Any time you have a fever you need to be resting to give your body a fighting chance. No exercise.
When You’re Tired
How tired? It you’ve got the fatigue and brain-block that comes from a long day at the office, some moderate exercise after work may help you relax and recharge.
But if your body is telling you go home and go to bed, that’s what you need to do.
When A Chronic Condition Flairs Up
Most people with chronic conditions or injuries can exercise with doctor’s permission between flair-ups. But many make the mistake of trying to exercise when their condition is acute. When your condition flairs up, wait it out. Don’t exercise. It only takes a moment to cause permanent damage. If your flair-up persists, go see your doctor.
Whey You’re Pregnant
Most pregnant women can exercise but ability to exercise varies greatly from person to person. Make sure you talk to your doctor about any exercise you’re planning to do.
When You Have Pain
Patient: “Doctor it hurts when I do this.”
Doctor: “Don’t do that!”
It really IS that simple. Pushing through the pain is nonsense even for most professional athletes. If you’ve got pain don’t exercise. See your doctor.

This list is a work in progress and since I’m lying here, I’m sure I can think up some more stuff. How about you? If you’ve got some good reasons not to exercise, send them to me at exercise@movingfree.com .

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Leaf Peeping & Label Lessons Learned in Vermont by Mirabai Holland © 2011

Last weekend I went hiking in Vermont and the Fall color was astonishing.

I went along for about two hours at a brisk pace enjoying the fresh air.

Much of my exercise is teaching fitness classes and creating new routines for exercise DVDs. So, it was refreshing to just free my mind, move my body and drink in all those trees dressed in red, yellow, orange mixed with green. Sometimes its good to mix up your exercise routine. I felt renewed.

When I finished my hike we went into a little country food market.

So cute with all those red and white checkered tabletops filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, homemade jams, honey, maple syrup and cider. I spotted a bottle that said “Fresh Apple Cider” thinking how fresh it would taste, this being apple season and all. I continued my walk and I’d gotten a considerable distance from the store when I decided it was time for swig of cider. As I was about to sip, I glanced at the ingredients label expecting to see APPLES. But instead it read

APPLES, and Potassium sorbate, a preservative.

I wanted to throw that cider against a wall!

I was thirty so I drank a little and whether it was in my mind or not, it seemed to taste not as fresh as I imagined it would. So the lesson here, is just because you are in an adorable country market, don’t take for granted that all the foods will be fresh and adorable too.

So caveat emptor: let the buyer beware!

I also filmed a brief vlog (video blog) post while I was there. Enjoy!

Here’s a fresh exercise approach on DVD for your Holiday Gift Guide by Lifestyle Makeover Pro Mirabai Holland MFA Available at www.easyexercisevideos.com

Fabulous Foreverâ DVD 7 Pack Level 1 & 2 by Mirabai Holland MFA

Retail Price: $59.95, $6 S & H
· Sustainable: Anti Drill Sergeant approach gets you fit while staying in your comfort zone. Pleasant enough to stick with for life
· Complete: 7 DVD set takes you from beginner through advanced. Comes with 4 ft latex band that trims and tones your body
· Convenient: Work out at home; take it anywhere
· Cost Effective: Less than a month or two at the gym: Buy it once; use it forever.

The Wellness Mandala By Mirabai Holland, MFA ©2011

Autumn, leaves are turning, frost is on the pumpkin and flu season is knocking at our door. I’ve got no excuse. Even my neighborhood drugstore is giving out flu shots these days.
Thinking about avoiding the flu always makes me wax philosophic.
So I started thinking about wellness. What is wellness anyway?
It’s the absence of disease. If you are not sick you are well.
But it’s more than that isn’t it? It’s quality of life and for some it’s the balance of all things. I like this balance concept so I dug out one of my favorite balance tools:
The Mandala: the wheel of life. I wrote down all the types of wellness I could think of and ended up with 6 categories that I stuck on my Mandala. Here they are:
Physical Wellness
· Taking care of your body, eat right, exercise
· Visit your doctor regularly

Mental Wellness
· Keeping an open mind and trying to see other’s point of view
· Allowing your curiosity to take you to new places and learn new things.

Emotional Wellness
· Trying to keep a positive state of mind
· Cultivating self esteem
· Reaching out to others for support

Spiritual Wellness
· Recognizing your beliefs.
· Allowing your core values to direct your actions.

Social Wellness
· Developing positive inter-personal relationships at home and work
· Allowing yourself to give and receive love: to and from everyone that means that much to you including animals
· Participate in social situations; try not to stay on the sidelines.

Environmental Wellness
· Making your home environment peaceful, pleasant, safe and comfortable.
· Choosing an occupation and a workplace that doesn’t drive you nuts.
· Try to have a positive impact on our natural environment.
Recycle more, pollute less.

When the wheel is in balance it spins evenly. When even one of these categories is out of whack, the whole wheel starts to wobble.
So as a wellness professional I respectfully suggest you get rolling!

Send your Moving Free with Mirabai questions to: askmirabai@movingfree.com

CAN YOU BE FIT AND FAT? by Mirabai Holland © 2011

You don’t have to be thin to be fit. A number of the people I work with in my practice are both fat and fit. They work out and don’t always lose weight but they are reaping the health benefits that regular moderate exercise can bring to everyone.

According to Dr. Steven Blair in a study from University of South Carolina report published in the Journal of the American Medicine Association. (2007)

“There is a great benefit to being fit” Blair noted, “even if you are, in fact obese…across every category of body composition, unfit individuals have a much higher death rate than those who are fit…Our follow-up has shown that the death rate for women and men who are thin but unfit is at least twice as high as their obese counterparts who are fit…Fitness appears to provide protection against early mortality no matter how much you weigh”

So if you’ve got a few extra pounds on that you are finding impossible to shed, don’t obsess and don’t use it as an excuse not to exercise. Get yourself on a pleasurable and sustainable fitness program. You’ll feel and be healthier and you may eventually end up thinner too.

Here are some safety guidelines for exercising while carrying some extra weight:

Do low impact cardio activities like walking, biking, swimming or low impact aerobics. High impact exercise like jumping or running while carrying extra weight can over-stress your joints.

Stay in your target heart zone. If you’re a normal, healthy person, here’s the formula for finding yours:

220

- Your Age

Your Max Heart Rate in Beats Per Minute

Your should exercise at between 55 – 85% of your Max heart rate.

A good rule of thumb is you should be just barely able to carry on a conversation while exercising.

Here are a few tips for making your exercise program Pleasurable and Sustainable.

- Find something you like or at least don’t hate!

- It helps to exercise with a friend or loved one.

- Use your favorite music to help motivate you.

- Find a regular time in the day and make it a habit.

- Try to do at least something 5 days a week.

- Don’t over do it. Stay in your comfort zone.

Enjoy! And remember, fat or thin Fitness = Longevity!