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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

A Discussion of Yoga for Arthritis

In this article, I will attempt to set the record straight on the subject of yoga for arthritis.

One major problem with arthritis is the fact that it tends to rob the individual of a certain sense of freedom and of control. It often occurs later in life when the individual is already beginning to see other negative changes in lifestyle and capabilities. Adding the nagging and/or excruciating and sometimes seemingly random pain of arthritis and lack of mobility can be almost devastating for many people.

While treatments and medications do exist to decrease pain and perhaps restore some mobility, many people wonder it there isn't some other way. Perhaps there is a more natural way to at least decrease some of the pain and restore some of the mobility. In such hopes, some will turn to exercise, only to turn away when their pain seems to increase and the arthritis seems to prevent them from effectively participating in the activity anyway.

As if this weren't enough, when people open books on yoga and look at the pictures, they find it impossible to believe that they could ever achieve such contortions...even if they did not have arthritis!

So, is it possible for yoga and arthritis to coexist amicably?

The answer is most certainly, "Yes"!

However, we must always keep in mind that individuals are different as are the forms and levels of arthritis they are burdened with. Therefore, always begin any exercise program, yoga or otherwise, with the approval of your physician. Be aware also that you may or may not be able to achieve what someone else has achieved. You will NOT, in most instances at least, be able to achieve the pretzel-like contortions of the masters in the pictures. However, most people will be able to increase flexibility and strength while decreasing the negative effects of arthritis by regular, consistent practice of yoga.

Almost any low impact exercise program from swimming, bike riding, and walking to weightlifting and bodybuilding (yes, I said weightlifting and bodybuilding) will be beneficial for almost anyone afflicted with arthritis. In fact, according to treatment guidelines published by the American college of Rheumatology, exercise is considered to be an integral and effective part of any treatment for arthritis, whether it is rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Exercise can contribute so much to the arthritic or non-arthritic individual that it is almost a given that anyone should participate in regular physical activity of some kind. However, relative to those with arthritis in particular, who often are already on their own downward spiral of decreasing physical strength, lack of energy, and decreasing endurance or stamina, exercise is a key element in combating the condition. People with arthritis tend to become more sedentary than the rest of the population in general, which, by the way, is having increasing problems with those outlined above AND obesity as well.

Regular moderate exercise of any kind seems to play a major role in promoting joint health, decreasing joint pain and discomfort, while reversing the problems with strength, endurance, and energy mentioned above. Regular exercise also contributes to a better sense of emotional and psychological well-being while enhancing immune system function as well.

Okay! I'm sold on exercise for arthritis, but what does yoga have to offer that other exercise programs do not?

First, let's get past the idea that you have to be incredibly flexible to do yoga. Nothing can be farther from the truth. In fact, the very attempt to execute the movement or achieve the position is one of the major factors in the efficacy of yoga. Many people who practice yoga regularly cannot perform the yoga positions seen in the pictures in books, and it is not uncommon for props and straps to be used to help others achieve something similar to the position. People of all shapes, sizes, and weights do yoga regularly, and this includes many with arthritis as well.

Having said that, yoga and arthritis go well together because yoga, when done properly, is actually a very gentle yet effective exercise method. It is calming and helps relieve stress while providing the benefits of other exercise programs while also providing some of its own. Along that line, yoga becomes additionally empowering in that, in addition to the benefits of exercise, and reduction of stress, yoga increases self confidence and aids in concentration, often allowing the individual to find unique insight into problems or difficulties at many levels.

yoga is easily learned, allows the practitioner to progress at his or her pace, requires little or no special equipment (some do yoga nude), requires little space, and can easily fit into almost any schedule, even being cut up into several short sessions instead of one longer one. Many people enjoy the calming nature of yoga, particularly if they are facing other difficulties such as arthritis or many other physical conditions. yoga can be a group activity or can be practiced alone. It can be learned with the aid of formal instruction, or a certain degree of competence can be acquired through the use of books and videos on the subject.

Last, but perhaps not least, many people just plain enjoy yoga, arthritis sufferers included.

So, in my opinion, yoga for arthritis may be a good choice for you. Why not give it a try?

Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer residing in Copperas Cove, texas, and a University of West florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health, and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, weight lifting, yoga, weight loss, the environment, global warming, happiness, self improvement, and life. You can find a collection of his articles on health, fitness, diet, and weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory.

learn more about yoga at http://yoga-4-the-health-of-it.com.

Yoga Corepower Hot Cl Cherry Gods Highlands

Affects of the Asia Tsunami on Tourism

A tsunami struck out of nowhere going down in history as the most devastating earthquake killing over two hundred thousand people. The coasts of south East asia had been building popularity with Europeans when this occurred, understandably so tourism dwindled down after this, but not for long.

Some of the more popular vacation spots that were affected the most were Sri Lanka, south india, thailand, and Indonesia. After the tsunami struck most locations started planning ideas or events to bring tourism back. They knew the travel industry would be affected and wanted to make sure it did not last long.

Sri Lanka one of the hardest hit places came up with an idea they called Io Vado A Sri Lanka. What they did was get a group together of more than two hundred and seventy people consisting of the Italian media, tour operators and retailers and they toured the island. They visited all their interesting sites on the island.

The idea was that the Italian media would share their experience on the island and would be encouraging people to come visit at the same time. When the tsunami struck south East asia the tourism industry lost billions of dollars. Immediately after the tsunami the government was encouraging vacationers to stay away from the areas affected.

Fortunately the travel industry was not going to stand for this. They have been working hard since the Tsunami to regain their visitors. Shortly after the Tsunami the Association of Southeast Asian Nations intensified their marketing to gain tourists again. They began to encourage the government to help them assure travelers that this tsunami was an isolated event, something that just does not happen. There was one good thing that came out of this tragedy. With all the media coverage on the tsunami more people became aware of these ideal vacation destinations.

One other thing the travel industry has been doing and will continue doing is giving advisory updates. They are informing the necessary sources of the conditions and improvements of these destinations and encouraging people to visit. By giving updates this will help get tourism back to 100% on the beautiful coasts of south East asia.

Fortunately for everyone tourists have begun to realize that a tsunami of this magnitude is rare, something that happens once maybe every hundred years and they are not letting it scare them away from enjoying a piece of paradise.

Darren Cronian, writer and editor at travel Rants.com is the owner of UK-based Worldwide Holiday Homes Darren is available for interview please contact him.

Meditation By Yoga

Plumbers - Where Are You?

If your looking for a plumber it may have come to your attention that they are becoming increasingly difficult to find. This is especially true in our particular area - Pontefract, Wakefield, Barnsley and Rotherham. This article focuses on the reasons for the shortage of good local plumbers in the Yorkshire area and the problems that our young plumbing apprentices face on the road to becoming qualified and highly skilled plumbers.

First of all, if your looking for a plumber to fit a bathroom suite or even carry out small plumbing repairs in and around your home, you might think it's just a case of picking up the telephone directory and choosing a company from the list. Not so! Given the recent property development trends and because there is so much demand for local plumbers in general, it is much harder to contract a local plumber than you may think.

We are part of the plumbing industry in the Yorkshire area and are enjoying a great abundance of very profitable local business partly due to our dedication to providing quality plumbing services, but more realistically due to the small numbers of quality plumbing companies that are currently servicing the areas surrounding Pontefract, Wakefield, Barnsley and Rotherham.

So why is this the case? Why are there so few plumbing companies in the Yorkshire areas that there are not enough local plumbers to meet local customer needs? In our opinion, the root cause is that very few young people are training to become plumbers. Even fewer of these plumbing students are entering the plumbing trade once they have received there formal qualifications. Plumbing is, and has always been a difficult trade to master. A plumber must master multiple disciplines in order to be able to meet the needs of their customer and must also have the business sense to turn a decent profit. A multi-skilled plumber may have skills which border on such trades as building, electrical, plastering and tiling.

We have talked to a number of local plumbing apprentices in the Yorkshire area and, whilst we knew the route to becoming a qualified plumber was not easy, we were astounded by some of the things that we heard from the people that we believe to be the future of the industry. First of all in order to get essential plumbing qualifications from a reputable college a work placement was needed first so that apprentices could provide photographic evidence of plumbing techniques that they have learned 'on the job'. We think this is a very good way to teach young plumbers, i.e. by combining classroom theory with on the job practical skills.

The problems are evident however, when you stop to consider the fact that there are very few local plumbing companies out there and even fewer that are willing to take on an apprentice who once trained would be able to compete with them for local business. Consider also the fact that these young people are expected to work for very little money. In many cases plumbing apprentices are expected to work for free! When you understand the dedication and effort that goes into training to be a plumber you can see what a thankless task it is for our young people to complete their training. This especially true when you consider the increasing number of lesser skilled job opportunites that are present in our area at the moment that offer decent wages for young people but which offer little in the way of career development or opportunities to develop other skills.

The solution to this problem in our opinion is for local plumbing companies in Pontefract, Wakefield, Barnsley and Rotherham to get behind our young people and provide support to make sure that there is a new wave of local plumbers who will be there to provide ongoing plumbing services for years to come.

This article was written Stuart Mortimer on behalf of MEM Plumbing and Bathrooms Ltd - a quality plumbing company in wakefield. MEM plumbing and Bathrooms provide fully qualified and highly skilled plumbers in the wakefield area. MEM also provide quality plumbing services in Pontefract, Barnsley and Rotherham.

Streaming Yoga Music

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