As if it weren’t already a huge drag to be overweight in our thinness obsessed, french fry saturated culture, researches recently discovered that being obese can lead to an incredibly shrinking brain.

The study completed by UCLA professor of Neurology Paul Thompson investigated the brains of 94 people in the 70’s. The brains of the obese individuals (BMI of 30+) had eight percent less tissue than their normal weighted counter parts and their brains appeared to have aged prematurely by 16 years. People classified as overweight (BMI of 25-30) fared somewhat better with brain loss of four percent and eight years of premature aging. Brain loss was seen in key areas of the think box such as the frontal and temporal lobes used for critical planning and memory and the hippocampus, which is involved in long term memory. Researches hypothesis that being over-weight not only puts people at risk for ailments such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, but also Alzheimers and other degenerative brain diseases.

If you are currently overweight or obese and are wondering what to do with all that extra space in your head, the good news is that its possible to fill it back up with grey and white matter. Five years after the initial scans some of the study participants were able to reverse their brain loss by as much as four percent (and find their keys to that they could finally go home). It is so good to know that like bone and muscles, the brain is capable of regenerating itself. Go brain go!

The study is further evidence that ignoring the needs of the body while cultivating other lovely traits such as intelligence, compassion or the ability to play the flugelhorn is a dangerous path, because eventually you won’t even be able to find your flugelhorn. The brain body connection cannot be ignored. So go for a walk, take a yoga class or take all your big books off the shelf, put them in the kitchen and then put them back on the shelf again. Your brain will thank you.

Read more about the study at the online magazine Human Brain Mapping.

It’s natural in these uncertain economic times to want to keep our budgets as lean and fit as possible. Unfortunately that sometimes means cutting back on many of the services that keep us happy, healthy and sane. Message, chiropractic care, personal training, spa days and gym memberships are often the first to hit the chopping block as we begin to liposuction our budget. Going without these proactive health services can be a real drag and also have a negative impact on our overall well being. Read on for tips on keeping the good health rolling.

Cut back, not off

Reduce your services from weekly to bi-weekly or monthly. You will maintain the relationship with your provider as well as the commitment to your health, while saving lots of dough.

Negotiate

Most everyone in the health and wellness industry is feeling the pinch and your practitioner may be willing to see you at a discounted rate.  Sure, it can be uncomfortable to bring this sort of thing up, but its better then just disappearing without a trace. Ask if they have a sliding scale or tell them that while your financial situation has changed, you still really value them and would like to figure out a way to continue. More then likely they will be willing to work with you, so swallow your pride and ask.

Throw a sweat meet

Have an exercise equipment swap with friends or strangers who are vulnerable to late night fitness infomercials. Frank’s never used treadmill for Linda’s nearly brand new Solo-flex or Georgia’s trampoline for your punching bag. Trade for a little while or forever. Equipment that’s new to you will keep your workouts fresh without working out your wallet.

Tone up those angel’s wings

This is a particularly good idea if you are un or under employed. Many places including yoga and Pilates studios, private gyms and YMCA’s give complimentary classes or free memberships to good Samaritans who volunteer a few hours a week.

Three’s company

If you have been working one on one with a trainer, find a friend of similar fitness levels to join your workouts and you’ll save considerable bank. If personal training is still too much, group classes might be better for your budget. Just make sure you connect with the instructor and your workout mates. It’s possible to create similar bonds of accountability and motivation in this setting, though you will have to work a little harder to get feedback and attention.

Join a cheaper gym

Be careful with this one though because if your new gym is inconvenient/unfriendly/loud/oddly smelling etc. you won’t go and then you might as well just quit all together and buy a jump rope.

Stay tuned

For the poor man/woman’s massage day, a relaxing and rejuvenating experience that can be enjoyed on the cheap.

What we could all learn from fit, long-living, mature Asians:

The best workout clothes is whatever you have on right now

When I see the Asian grannies and grammpies hoofing down the street or tai chin’ in the park they are wearing comfy street clothes. These are clothes they might wear for the rest of the day, which makes being active more integrated and less of a hassle. This can be difficult if you work at a fancy pants job, but on weekends or casual days make an effort to dress up your workout clothes or loosen up your street clothes to promote outfit cross-training. As a wise, probably Asian person, once said, “Wearing clothes one can move around in promotes moving around.”

Walk, walk, walk and then walk some more.

It is a well known fact that the reason why the chicken (and the duck) crossed the road was to escape the older Asian lady with the shopping bag and intent look in her eye. I often see women who appear to be in their 70’s walking to and from the store with heavy bags of groceries and other assorted necessities or daughters in their 80’s helping 100 year-old mothers with their daily constitutionals. Older Asians walk for exercise and to get from point A to points B, C and D. Loading walking is a great way to increase and maintain bone density, which greatly reduces age related fracture risks. As we have all heard time and again walking in general is wonderful, low-impact, mood enhancing cardiovascular exercise. Just try and think of someone you know who walks everywhere and is depressed.

Move in every which way

Most Asian fitness systems are based on moving the body gently in every possible direction. Tai Chi and yoga are great examples of this philosophy. We live in three planes of reality and we should train to move in all of them. In contrast the average gym routine is only one or two dimensional and doesn’t prepare us for the real world which twists, jumps and turns unexpectedly.

Anytime, anyplace

Older Asian people will exercise anywhere at anytime. You can spot them in parking lots, yards, schools, parks and more doing their thing. They don’t usually require any special equipment (except for fans for swords) and so they don’t have to worry about getting to they gym or remembering their workout gear. I have often envied their apparent lack of self consciousness as they don’t appear to care who watches them or what anybody else thinks. Cheers to that!

The more the merrier

Most often older Asian people exercise in twosomes, threesomes or bigger groups. I often see them walking together, taking part in tai chi classes or sword fighting side by side. Their culture openly appreciates the power and energy of community to enhance any activity. Working out with others can add pizazz to any fitness routine.

The year of the fat bunny

Older Asian people are hardly ever overweight. Maybe it’s because of all of the daily activities or because they tend to eat a healthier, vegetable based diet or because they are so busy taking care of their chubby, video game playing grand children. Whatever the reasons keeping a healthy weight is easier on the joints and all other major body systems and is a key component of vigorous aging.

In our culture of fitness fads and hype we could all learn something from these unsung heroes of health and longevity. We salute you Asian elders!

Saunas have always struck me as a place of indulgence for the rich and retired. I was of the opinion that my usual workout routine contained plenty of sweating without having to malinger in a hot box with naked strangers. I had always preferred to spend every precious moment I had at the gym sweating on the Stairmaster, pushing around heavy weights or begrudgingly stretching.

Then I got laid off from my day job and my schedule went from externally frantic and impacted to internally frantic and wide open. I used some of my freed up time and energy to set new fitness goals, develop more targeted workouts and explore aspects of the gym I had previously ignored, including the sauna. One day after riding the bike and working the heck out of my lower body, instead of heading straight for the showers I detoured into the sauna. I put down my towel, laid myself out and waited for something to happen.

At first it felt odd to be lying down and doing nothing at the gym, usually such a physically busy place. I stared up at the criss-crossed boards that made up the ceiling and tried to relax. After a moment, I could feel the heat beginning to penetrate my body, causing my skin to tingle and flush. I could feel the heat like a persistent lover determinedly making its way inward, working its way toward my tired muscles. I became hyper aware of the feel of my skin and the interesting feeling of my body interacting with the hotness. Another woman was having her own sauna experience on a bench across from me, but we did not speak. The heat and quiet wrapped themselves around me and I closed my eyes.

In this busy, fast paced world who doesn’t appreciate a little help to enter into a calmer state of mind? The sauna can be a meditative shoehorn to ease you into a more relaxed place and like the labyrinth, (see November 9th entry) is another useful tool. There are no reading materials, I PODS, computers or idle chatter in the sauna and we are relieved of the modern stimulates that keep us wired and given a rare opportunity to tune into our physical selves at rest. So often at the gym, and in life, its push!, push!, push! We feel the burn and then do five more reps, come to the point of mild discomfort and then hold the stretch, force out ten more minutes of aching lungs on the treadmill. No wonder so many people consider the gym a house of horrors.

The sauna does not allow pushing or competing and is great for balancing the more active parts of a workout. Spending time in the sauna can be a great transition from the charged effort of a workout to a more mellow post workout state of being. The process is cleansing for the entire body and a great relaxation technique.

On my way home that first day I experienced a warm, full-body glow. My skin seemed to be breathing on its own and I felt light from the inside out. Ahhh…the relaxers high! I am now a dedicated sauna convert and it has become my reward at the end of every workout.

The sauna is a five to ten minute gift of mental and physical health that you can easily give yourself. Don’t wait until you’re old, well married or unemployed to reap the rewards that the sauna has to offer. You could be a few minutes away from heaven in your own body.

The benefits of meditation are remarkable and continue to be documented. The practice has been shown to reverse heart disease, enhance the immune system, reduce pain and create feelings of calm and general grooviness. The problem is that sitting meditation requires the ability to sit still; which for many people can be a real obstacle to success. If you are stressed out and haven’t found a regular relaxation practice that works for you, perhaps a journey into the labyrinth is just what you need.

I had my first labyrinth experience on a breezy afternoon in San Francisco’s Duboce Park, making sure I was nice and pre-stressed by illegally parking to get there. Labyrinths have been used as a meditative tool by many cultures including Celtic, Mayan, Greek and Native American since prehistoric times. I already felt more connected to humankind as I thought about the mega stresses that people were dealing with thousands of years ago and was impressed that such varied cultures had caught onto this practice.

Labyrinths are often confused with mazes, but there are a couple of key differences. A labyrinth has only one winding path, you can’t get lost (physically anyway) and there are no minotaurs waiting to eat you. Also, labyrinths are flat and the path is never concealed. They can be made of almost any material but the most common are stone, masonry, tile or canvas. The labyrinth at Duboce Park is sandblasted into the concrete and includes a table-top finger labyrinth for the vision impaired. The typical practice is to walk from the outside to the center, pause for contemplation and then retrace the path back to the beginning.

The labyrinth adds some action to the quiet and focus of meditation and asks you to observe yourself on the journey. There are lots of different ways to approach the process of walking a labyrinth, from focusing on your breath, the feel of your feet (bare or not) on the path, your God or something else in your life that needs attention. You can see the labyrinth as a metaphor for the many journeys of life and also as adding some helpful structure to your meditative practice.

After my walk I felt calmer, more connected to my own body and more in the moment. I wonder what that the labyrinth has in store for you?

All stressed out with no where to go? To find a labyrinth near you visit the world wide labyrinth location.

http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/

More information on walking Meditation (no labyrinth required)

www.wildmind.org/walking/introduction.com

Online labyrinth tool (no walking required)

http://www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/interactions/index.shtml#

Yoga is supposed to make you feel good. It is supposed to clear out tension blockades, release energy to flow like fresh mountain spring water and open up, relax and harmonize the body. It is true that the practice of yoga can accomplish corporeal and spiritual magic, but if the yogis around me have their feet twice wrapped around their heads while I struggle to bend over, angst becomes the order of my day.

Yoga is not supposed to be a competitive sport (though I have heard of yoga competitions).  If only taking off my westernized, capitalistic view point was as easy as taking off my shoes and socks at the studio door. I bring my perspective with me and it causes me to suffer and because they keep reminding you to be in the present moment, I am much more aware of this suffering then I would usually be. From my vantage, most of the people in my yoga classes are “better” then me. They are more flexible and more balanced. They can do the poses as shown without the support of the three bricks, two blankets, a strap and a crane. I know that I should love and honor my body where it is at, but it is difficult when it appears that the bodies around me are in better places. Sometimes the flexy bodied people make inane comments and then I feel a bit better. “They may be more flexible, but they are a bit idiotic.” It is a small and dark comfort.

I see them in headstands, their bodies taut and balanced, their shoulders limber and strong and I try not to hate them. I resist the childish urge to knock them over like a stack of blocks. I try to distract myself with sexy thoughts of the instructor, something I am an experienced expert at. Sadly even that leads to pain as I realize that a yoga instructor would want to have superhuman, inverted, levitating yoga sex. I probably wouldn’t be up for it and who wants all those yoga blocks in bed anyway?

And then, when I have myself worked up into a respectable tizzy I remember who I should really be comparing myself to; my neurotic family. They are charming folk, all of them, and they can’t help it if they make more money then me, drive nicer cars, vote Republican and only recycle if a hippy stars knowing on their legs. All of them, with the exception of my 2-year old nephew, are stiffer then me. They have superbly tight and knotty hips and hamstrings and practically have to UPS their socks to their feet in the morning. They have more energy blockages then the 405 Freeway at 7:30. My father who has taken up yoga in his 60’s cannot sit in simple cross legged pose without several assistive devices.

When you are dating someone you can look at their parents to see what you might be waking up to in 25 years. In this way I look at the members of my family, particularly the older ones, to see the conditions and maladies that I want desperately to avoid. I’d like to avoid osteoporosis, limited movement, pain and the inability to have a conversation without quoting conservative talk radio. I try to keep my eye (both inner and outer) on this prize as I twist and strain and attempt to transform my body into a flexible, harmonious playground.

I know, I know, I’m not supposed to compare myself to other people, even my own family, but I consider this a stepping stone on the long path to enlightenment. I often dedicate my practice to my older self. The self that I hope will be more enlightened, agile, and active for a very long time to come.