In a cheery room in Cockeysville, two dozen people sit with their heads down, focused on the papers in front of them. The only sound is the scratching of pencils on paper.

The sight triggers memories of school days, but this is no group of middle schoolers eking their way through a math class pop quiz. It's the Brain Aerobics class at Broadmead Senior Living Community.

Once a week, speech pathologist Chuck Warnke leads the class through a variety of mental activities, including riddles, word games and history puzzles one activity challenged class members to remember the prices of products, from a gallon of milk to a pair of women's leather boots, from 1972.

Like regular aerobics, Brain Aerobics is all about working out. "It's a set of exercises that engage as many different parts of the brain as possible," explains Warnke, who launched the Broadmead class about four years ago.

As the U.S. population ages, brain health is an increasingly hot topic. According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease that includes 1 in 8 older Americans.

"Three-quarters of people over 80 don't have memory problems at all," says Dr. Michael Ankrom, a geriatrician at GBMC Greater Gilchrist. "But it's an understandable fear. None of us want to not be in control of our environment and that's essentially what dementia does."

To stay as mentally fit as possible, Ankrom recommends that his patients stay physically fit, get enough sleep, stay hydrated and engage in mental activities like Brain Aerobics.

"We often think of the brain like we think of muscles use it or lose it," says Ankrom. "That's not totally true, but we do get foggy. Like with math if you don't use it every day, it's harder to do."

The best brain-stimulating activities are enjoyable and social, say Warnke and Ankrom.

Warnke points out that while solitary activities (like crossword puzzles or reading) are valuable, they are not as mentally challenging as activities that force interaction with others, or that jar people out of their everyday routines.

See the original post here:
Senior centers turn to brain aerobics classes

When you do yoga, what do you think of? A relaxing time at the pool? A beautiful sunset? Maybe waves hitting the shore.

Well for funnyman Russell Brand, actor Tom Cruise does the trick. We kid you not!

The British funnyman is a huge fan of the ancient Indian spiritual and physical discipline and the Mission Impossible actor - who he starred with in Rock Of Ages. Tom knew Russell liked yoga so he bought him a yoga mat, so now Russell's thoughts turn to Tom as he's exercising.

During an appearance on UK TV show This Morning, Russell said: "Tom Cruise bought me a yoga mat, although I don't know if it was actually from him. Certainly someone who works for Tom Cruise sent me a yoga mat and said here's a yoga mat and think of Tom Cruise when you do yoga. And I do.

"I like yoga a lot, I don't think there's a problem doing yoga and meditating every day ... there's a daily access to unseen realms of power - not just me, everyone has that within themselves! Yoga and meditation for me is a way of accessing very beautiful principles that perhaps make us happier at a time when people feel disillusioned with the economy, concerned about the ecology, worried with politicians, don't trust what they are being told on television..."

Russell - who was once married to singer Katy Perry - also revealed he is happy most of the time and feels at his most contented when he is treating other people well.

When asked if he was happy, Russell replied: "Yes. Intermittently. Happiness cannot forever be sustained like some glistening bauble, it's a transitory thing like a butterfly ... so I'm happy mostly when I'm being nice to other people."

Isn't he so in the zen state of mind?

(BANG Showbiz)

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Russell Brand thinks of Tom Cruise when he does yoga

The National Sleep Foundation reports that more than 50 percent of American adults suffer from symptoms of insomnia a few nights a week or more. Sleep experts recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night for good health, yet many get considerably less. Inadequate sleep is associated with chronic health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer.

The ancient practice of yoga nidra, also known as yogic sleep, is a meditative practice that results in conscious deep sleep. Current research suggests that yoga nidra can help relieve menstrual problems, diabetes symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In honor of National Sleep Awareness Week in March, here's three health benefits of yoga nidra.

Yoga Nidra Improves Menstrual Problems

A 2012 study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology reports yoga nidra may improve blood pressure and heart rate variables in patients with menstrual problems.

Researchers at the Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University in India administered either a yoga nidra program or no yoga (control group) to 150 women with menstrual disturbances.

The yoga group participated in yoga nidra practice for 30 to 40 minutes daily, five days per week for six months. Autonomic testing was obtained from the participants before and after the study.

The researchers found that blood pressure, postural hypotension, sustained hand grip and heart rate variables were significantly improved in the yoga group.

Yoga Nidra May Promote Diabetes Management

A recent study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found yoga nidra may reduce the symptoms of diabetes and help control blood glucose levels.

Read more:
Elaine Gavalas: 3 Yoga Nidra Health Benefits

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Is yoga secular or religious?

Thats the conundrum at the heart of a new legal battle in Encinitas, California over the teaching of yoga in public schools.

In a lawsuit filed last month, a couple with two children in the Encinitas schools charge that the district is unconstitutionally promoting religion by giving yoga classes twice a week to students during the school day.

School officials insist that the yoga classes are for physical fitness and have nothing to do with religion or religious indoctrination.

The outcome of case could impact hundreds of other public schools nationwide that incorporate yoga postures and breathing exercises into their wellness and fitness programs.

Because yoga is used to describe a bewildering variety of classes and programs that dot the American landscape, from retreat centers and ashrams to shopping malls and gyms, its easy to forget that yoga originated in ancient India as a school of Hindu philosophy.

Many yoga practitioners embrace the religious roots and spiritual meaning of yoga while many others view yoga largely as a healthy exercise and stress reduction regimen.

Public schools, of course, adopt the healthy exercise definition in order to comply with the First Amendments prohibition of school promotion or endorsement of religion. Thats why yoga programs adopted by schools all claim to be secular, although they negotiate the traditional religious framework in a variety of ways.

On one end of the spectrum, a program offered to schools called Grounded retains Sanskrit terms such as asanas (poses) and doesnt shy away from referencing the Chakra System, the seven major energy centers in the body as understood in many Eastern religious traditions.

Original post:
Battling over yoga in public schools

Quote of the day:

Yoga has a sly, clever way of short circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety.

Baxter Bell

A Prana Power Yoga student and reader asked me to write about Yoga and mental health/healing stress and anxiety. I began practicing due to lower back pain, but then went through a really unhealthy relationship in my life. Yoga allowed me to find ways to heal that stress and anxiety, and eventually move forward gracefully."

This is amazing and miraculous. Kudos to her.

I don't use "miraculous" as in "This ain't never gonna happen to or for you--it's a miracle!" But instead as in "I expect miracles on my mat every day. And I get 'em."

I cannot overemphasize the benefits of a regular yoga practice for mental health. I am trained as a clinical psychologist and while I believe in short term, intention focused therapy which utilizes Deliberate Creation and the Law of Attraction, I also believe that a regular yoga practice is key to one's mental health.

As I explain in my book, I believe in and love yoga asana, but I know some people don't and that's cool--but everyone has a "yoga" that calms, focuses, and grounds them, helping them to reconnect with their authentic self and remember who they are. This might be baking or taking a bath or reading or writing or walking or swimming or gardening. The list is endless.

But find your "yoga" and do it often to maintain a bill of sparkling clean mental health. If you wanna try Prana, email me and I'll give you a free class pass.

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Yoga and Mental Health