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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Improve Your Memory With Every Breath You Take

The results are in: yoga breathing can significantly improve memory. In particular, yoga breathing can improve spatial memory. This is the part of memory responsible for recording information about your environment. Spatial memory keeps track of where things are that you can see, where things are that you cant see, where you are, and how that all fits together. If you tend to have difficulty remembering where you put your keys or finding your way around large cities, then you may benefit from some intentional breathing.

What exactly is meant by yoga breathing? Several types of yoga breathing were included in the studies that revealed the astounding improvement in spatial memory. These included pranayama (voluntary regulation of breathing), nostril breathing (left, right, or alternating), and simple breathe awareness.

Heavy breathing during aerobic exercise wont cut it. One study of 85 elderly adults found that 16 weeks of aerobic training yielded no improvement in memory retrieval scores. Yet, a study of 108 individuals practicing nostril breathing or breathe awareness, found that they experienced an average 87% improvement in spatial memory scores after only 10 days. Another study had 30 children practice yoga breathing for 10 days. The children experienced a 43% increase in spatial memory scores.

yoga breathing is easy to do and can be done just about anywhere at any time. The following is a simple nostril breathing exercise. Try this exercise for at least a week to experience the benefits of intentional breathing:

-Try to sit with your head, neck and spine in a straight line.

-You will inhale through one nostril, hold the breath, then exhale through the other nostril in a ratio of 2:8:4 counts.

-Use the thumb and ring/pinky fingers of your right hand to close the right and left nostrils respectively, and close both nostrils when you hold the breath.

-Once each nostril has had a chance to inhale and exhale, this is called a round. Start with 3 rounds a day and build up slowly to twenty rounds, extending the count within the 2:8:4 ratio (for example, 4:16:8).

There are many other benefits ascribed to breathe awareness besides improved memory, including stress relief and increased attention span. Improving your mental health can have significant positive effects on your physical health as well. As the above studies show, we all have the power to create profound results for our own well-being.

References:

Madden DJ, Blumenthal JA, Allen PA, Emery CF. Improving aerobic capacity in healthy older adults does not necessarily lead to improved cognitive performance. Psychol Aging. 1989 Sep;4(3):307-20.

Manjunath NK, Telles S. Spatial and verbal memory test scores following yoga and fine arts camps for school children. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2004 Jul;48(3):353-6.

Naveen KV, Nagarathna R, Nagendra HR, Telles S. yoga breathing through a particular nostril increases spatial memory scores without lateralized effects. Psychol Rep. 1997 Oct;81(2):555-61.

Nicole Evans is an alternative medicine researcher/developer turned medical student. She also enjoys working with King Bio, a homeopathic company dedicated to empowering people to safely and naturally improve their health. For cutting edge water-based homeopathics visit http://www.kingbio.com .

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A Man Growing Boobs?

A man growing a boob can be a terrifying thing Especially if that man growing the boob is yourself. If thats the case, dont freak out Youre not alone. A man boob is a fairly common thing; about one third of the population will experience it at some point in time, especially during puberty.

A man growing boobs can be caused by two things One, an excess buildup of fat in his chest, and two, a hormonal imbalance. Lets go over both of these individually.

The first cause for a man growing a boob is an excess buildup of fat. As this suggests, it really isnt a boob, so much as fatty tissue that happens to be built up in the chest area. The best cure for this is a good diet and exercise. Unfortunately, you cant target a specific area to lose fat in If a mans growing a boob, he cant simply workout his chest to get rid of it. He has to exercise his whole body, improve his diet, and burn the fat from his entire body.

The second cause for a man growing boobs is a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance is caused by having too much estrogen and not enough testosterone in your body. The medical term for this condition is called Gynecomastia. This condition can be caused by medications that are throwing off your bodys hormone systems, drugs such as alcohol or marijuana, hormonal growth during puberty, or it may be an indication of a more serious disease, such as liver cancer. If youre a man growing boobs, and youre above the age of 25, it may be a good idea to consult a doctor. If Gynecomastia is left untreated for two years, the breast tissue may harden and become permanent, leaving surgery as the only option.

If youre under the age of 25, most likely you dont have to do anything at all. A man growing a boob during puberty is very common, and most of the time it will simply go away. If the man boob is still present after two years, it may be a good idea to seek medical attention.

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Yoga Exercise Video 20