Yoga and Physiotherapy as a wonderful combination

Yoga and physiotherapy can indeed be a wonderful combination for promoting overall health, rehabilitation, and physical well-being. Both disciplines have their unique benefits, and when used together, they can complement each other effectively.

Physiotherapy is a healthcare profession focused on restoring and improving movement and function in individuals who are affected by injury, illness, or disability. It uses various techniques such as exercises, manual therapy, and specialised equipment to address musculoskeletal, neurological, and respiratory conditions.

Yoga, on the other hand, is a holistic practice that combines physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), meditation, and relaxation to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Yoga helps improve flexibility, strength, balance, and body awareness while also reducing stress and promoting relaxation.

When integrated with physiotherapy, yoga can provide additional benefits to the rehabilitation process. Here are some ways in which yoga and physiotherapy can work together:

1. Enhanced Flexibility and Range of Motion: Yoga postures can help improve flexibility and joint mobility, which can complement the stretching and range of motion exercises prescribed in physiotherapy. By incorporating yoga stretches, individuals can further enhance their flexibility, leading to better overall movement and function.

2. Core Strength and Stability: Yoga emphasizes core strength and stability, which are crucial for maintaining proper posture and balance. Physiotherapy often includes exercises to strengthen the core muscles, and incorporating yoga poses that target the core can enhance those efforts.

3. Body Awareness and Alignment: Yoga promotes body awareness, helping individuals develop a deeper understanding of their posture, alignment, and movement patterns. This increased body awareness can complement physiotherapy by enhancing the individual's ability to perform exercises with correct form, reducing the risk of injury and improving overall movement efficiency.

4. Stress Reduction and Relaxation: Physiotherapy can sometimes be physically and emotionally demanding, particularly during rehabilitation from serious injuries or chronic conditions. Yoga's emphasis on breathing techniques, relaxation, and mindfulness can help individuals manage stress, reduce anxiety, and improve overall well-being during the rehabilitation process.

5. Prevention of Recurrence: Yoga's focus on balance, strength, and flexibility can help prevent future injuries or re-injury once the individual has completed their physiotherapy treatment. By incorporating yoga as part of a regular exercise routine, individuals can maintain and further improve their physical health and prevent future issues.

It's important to note that when combining yoga and physiotherapy, it should be done under the guidance of a qualified and experienced healthcare professional. A physiotherapist who is knowledgeable about yoga or a yoga therapist with an understanding of physiotherapy principles can work together to create a customised plan that meets the individual's specific needs and goals.

Overall, the integration of yoga and physiotherapy can provide a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation, promoting physical healing, improved function, and overall well-being.

Some effortless lifestyle changes.....to stay healthy

We have all heard that prevention is better than cure. Prevention is best solution for life style diseases like cancer, diabetes, heat diseases etc. we can save our self from the attack of this disease by making some effortless lifestyle changes. Prevent epidemics of life style diseases by making these  few changes .

1. check your weight:
Obesity is a frequent contributor to life style diseases -related deaths. If you are overweight, you have increased risk of, heart diseases, diabetes, PCOD, hormone disturbances, breast, kidney, oesophagus and colon cancer. So keep check on your body weight.

Advice :  Moderate exercise four times a week or 30 mint walk on daily bases along with a balanced diet is a very easy way to maintain healthy body weight.

2. Avoid smoking and  alcohol:
Alcohol adds on extra calories which may cause weight gain. Where as Cigarettes put you at a risk of lung, kidney, bladder and cervical cancer. Giving up tobacco is perhaps one of the biggest steps you can take to reduce your cancer risk.

Advice:  Adopt healthy habit of walk and meditation; it will help you to reduce smoking and drink. If you are chain smoker, try a nicotine patch, or pop some nicotine gum each time you feel the urge.

3. Good Fiber intake:
A healthy diet is crucial in reducing your chances of getting any disease; more fiber in your diet not only keeps your digestive system healthy, but also keeps your weight in check. Studies say people who consume a high amount of fiber are at 40 percent lower risk of stomach, pancreatic, colon and breast cancer.

Advice: Apart from whole grain cereals at breakfast, opt for high fiber vegetables and fruits in your daily meals.

4. Water intake: 
Water helps keep the body well hydrated, which is essential because almost every cell in the body needs water to function properly. In a clinical trial, scientists found that drinking two glasses of water prior to meals can help suppress appetite and hence support your weight loss efforts. Water also improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. This helps in digestion and prevents constipation. Water is an excellent detoxifier as it helps flush out toxins from your body and get rid of waste mainly through sweat and urine.

Advice: drink 9-12 glass of clean water per day.

5. Get screened regularly: Getting regular health checkups reduces your chances of discovering any life threatening diseases when it has progressed to a later stage.

6. Adequate sleep: 

Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more. Research indicates that people who get less sleep - six or fewer hours a night- have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins (Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging)  than those who get more. Sleep helps to loss weight and those who are on diet felt hungrier when they got less sleep.


Advice: Take proper sleep of 8-10 hr and if you have any long term problem in sleep do meditation and seek help from experts. 

Eat smart to lose weight ,But Exercise habitual to look smart & healthy

Its very much true  anyone can lose weight with diet , and comparatively those who are on exercise a person will lose more who is on healthy and smart eating ,

But exercise is an important component. Without it, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat –even you’re compromising on muscle strength and bone density. Since working out stimulates growth metabolic tissues and batter utilisation of food nutrition which is very important for healthy living, losing weight through exercise means you're burning mostly fat, and those extra calories into energy which make you feel active whole day.

The number on the scale may not sound as notable, but because muscle takes up less space than fat does, you look slimmer and your clothes fit better. And to lose weight with exercise you don't need to run marathons and on treadmill for hours. You just need to build up to five to seven workouts a week, 50 minutes each, at a moderate intensity, like brisk walking.

Beyond burning fat, exercise can have other remarkable health benefits, like improving the quality of your sleep, lowering your cholesterol and reducing your stress level, batter muscle tone, improve concentration and work efficiency..And longevity.. 

Make your morning a healthy morning with Surya - Namaskar

Today one of my client talked to me about surya namaskar , so I decide to write about it today  . Surya namaskar is a common sequence of asans i.e  7 postures including exercise of whole body and it works like wonder in weight loss , so many studies are done on surya namaskar . and it is found that there  is significant improvement in our pulmonary function test , stamina , hand grip , endurance , flexibility and  increase the joint mobility .

But it should be done under guidance when you want to start it as it contain bit hyperextension exercises which should be done with the advice of a physiotherapist or your doctor .

Before doing  proper sequence of the posture in  suryanamaskar batter to do a short training of different exercise for different parts of body to bring body on a certain fitness level to do the sequence of asans. Stretching exercise for leg arm and back are batter to do before you start it .   And the repetition of the asans should also be done less first then gradually increase it . you can begin with set of three repetition , then make it five then ten and so on as per your stamina .

 

Posture 1  :  Stand erect, ideally facing the morning sun. Fold your hands in prayer close to your chest and chant 'Om Suryadevaya Namah' thrice.

Posture 2 : With your hands together raise your arms up in the air while you breathe in. Bend over backwards forming an arch from the hands to your feet. The flexibility of the spine is ensured in this posture.

Posture 3 :  Bring your hands down while you breathe out to touch the floor on either side of your feet. In this posture, it is very important to keep your knees straight as you bend forward from the waist and your head as close as possible to the knee. This posture helps melt the excess fat around the stomach by aiding digestion. And it is self stretching of hamstring muscles helps to release lower back too.  If any backache history is there then consult your physiotherapist first to do it .

Posture 4 : While breathing in, put your hands flush with the floor and lower your hips and stretch your left leg back, allowing it to balance on your toes, and your right leg bent in a crouching stance. With your hands firmly on the ground and your arms straight as a die, raise your head upwards to face the sky. This one is for the flexibility of spine and leg muscles, and boosts immunity from diseases.

Posture 5 : As you breathe out, let your hands stay firmly on the ground and push your right leg back parallel to the left. Make sure your feet firmly touch the ground and your hip raised high. With your arms and knees straight lower your head to face your navel.

Posture 6 :  Hold your breath as you bring your hips down while keeping your hands and feet in the same position, and stretch your whole body near the floor. With your face downward, bring your chest and knees to lightly brush the floor, and hold your hips slightly high. At this moment, 8 points of your body are touching the floor - your palms, forehead, chest, knees and toes.

Posture 7 :  This posture is a mere extension of Posture 6, in that you breathe in and straighten your arms and lift your chest upward in an arching stance, and your head thrown back facing the sky. Your arms, at this point, carry the weight of your body, with you knees and toes resting on the floor.

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