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"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Good health depends on a wide range of factors.
Genetic factors: A person is born with a variety of genes. In some people, an unusual genetic pattern or change can lead to a less-than-optimum level of health. People may inherit genes from their parents that increase their risk for certain health conditions.
Environmental factors: Environmental factors play a role in health. Sometimes, the environment alone is enough to impact health. Other times, an environmental trigger can cause illness in a person who has an increased genetic risk of a particular disease.
Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India. First codified by the sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras around 400 C.E, the practice was in fact handed down from teacher to student long before this text arose. Traditionally, this was a one-to-one transmission, but since yoga became popular in the West in the 20th century, group classes have become the norm. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” or “to unite”. The practice aims to create union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness. Such a union tends to neutralize ego-driven thoughts and behaviours, creating a sense of spiritual awakening. Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, and whilst many different interpretations and styles have been developed, most tend to agree that the ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve liberation from suffering. Although each school or tradition of yoga has its own emphasis and practices, most focus on bringing together body, mind and breath as a means of altering energy or shifting consciousness.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a dated, biased measure that doesn’t account for several factors, such as body composition, ethnicity, race, gender, and age. Despite being a flawed measure, BMI is widely used today in the medical community because it is an inexpensive and quick method for analyzing potential health status and outcomes.
BMI is a measurement that takes into account your height, and weight to produce a calculation. This calculation is a measurement of your body size and can be used to determine how your body weight is related to your height. It is a method of determining whether you may be underweight, average weight, overweight, or obese, but it has flaws. BMI is not a diagnostic tool nor is it a measurement of body fat percentage. A high BMI may or may not be an indicator of high body fat, but it doesn't necessarily mean that a person is overweight or obese and it alone is not a direct indicator of health. In some populations, BMI has been found to be a fairly reliable indicator of body fat measures. But the calculation is less effective in other groups, such as bodybuilders and older adults. There are other methods that are more accurate in estimating body fat.
This is the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended body weight based on BMI values for adults. It is used for both men and women, age 20 or older.
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“The hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made, so if you push through, you can push through anything.”
Take a biiiiiiig breath in, pull your shoulders down from your ears, and let that breath gooooo. Feel better? One (among many) of the benefits of going to the gym is that it reduces stress by boosting your endorphins- which can be especially helpful during these stressful times! Any aerobic activity such as running, hiking, biking, or anything else that gets your heart rate up can get you that post workout buzz.
Establishing a regular exercise routine can lead to higher levels of confidence and self-satisfaction. There are endless opportunities to set goals for yourself and achieve them, and you’ll be taking care of yourself while doing it! One of the best ways to become confident in your body is by celebrating it with movement. Pair that with the satisfaction of reaching goals you’ve set for yourself, and you’ll find that exercise can be a great tool for boosting your confidence.
“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.”
One long term benefit of exercise is that it can help prevent bone loss, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). The best exercises to protect those bones are resistance based exercises, such as weight lifting. Another bonus of weight lifting and regular movement is increased balance, proprioception, and strength. In the long run, this can help prevent falls and potential injuries from those falls. If strength training is what you’re looking for, our small groups program is exceptional for creating strength gains- your body will thank you for it for years to come.
Good news if you love conditioning or HIIT days- they can help increase the size of your hippocampus, which is the area in your brain that assists with verbal memory and learning. This can be as simple as taking a brisk walk or even some intense house cleaning (you know, like the kind your mother made you do before you had house guests over). However, if you need a little more motivation than just the looming presence of your mother asking you to clean your room, you could always check out a HIIT class with us. 😉
Another one of the benefits of working out regularly is improved sleep! Sleep feeds into a lot of the other benefits discussed in this post, such as improved memory, reduced stress, and more. According to John Hopkins Medicine, moderate aerobic exercise can increase the amount of slow wave (deep) sleep you get. Almost any exercise can help with this, so pick your favorite form of movement and get in a good 30 minutes. Just make sure if you’re a late night mover that you exercise an hour or two before your bedtime- those endorphins than you expected!
You may be wondering- why do people go to the gym, anyways? How are they not exhausted for the rest of their day? The answer starts with our mitochondria (yes, THE powerhouse of the cell herself). Regular exercise can encourage your body to create more mitochondria, which use the food we consume and the oxygen we breathe to create fuel for our cells. So, the more mitochondria we have, the more energy stores we have. To put that simply: the more frequently you work out, the more energy you have ready.
Move aside, Cheerios. We have something better for your heart- movement! Both aerobic exercise and strength training can help keep your heart healthy. While aerobic exercise literally can train your heart to pump better, strength training can help improve your cholesterol levels and create more lean muscle mass (if you want a more in depth description on the differences between strength and conditioning, you can check out our blog post here).Exercise can actually help reduce chronic pain by relieving inflammation and improving mobility.
Is BMI a useful measure of health?
How and when did BMI get started?
Should I ignore my weight and concentrate on my BMI?
Is the BMI scale affected by race, age or other factors?
What numbers should I know about my health?
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