Stress Can Age You

If stress does not kill you, it will at least age you.

Here’s a quick question. If you were to ask your friends (who obviously do not know your real age) how old you are, what do you think would their guess be. Would they think you are older or younger than your chronological age?

I just concluded a project with a company that had very high levels of stress. Although I promised myself that by going back to corporate work I would not let go of my yoga classes, I found myself missing first one class, then two, and before I knew it, I was going months without a yoga practice to speak of. Without my knowing it, I became too absorbed in work and its toxic effects. When I settled back into home life in January of this year, I got sick – TWICE. I think my body, running on adrenalin for the longest time, suddenly felt the letdown of all those months and broke down.

A few months into a home-based life again, I find myself able to resume yoga, be with my kids more (esp. now that it’s summer) and attend blogging events which are far, far from stress. Ever since I ventured into yoga, I have gotten comments from people I bump into and who knew me from decades ago when I was an upcoming corporate executive well-entrenched in the rat race, that I look younger now than I did then. I call yoga my age-regressing stress management treatment.

A finding that was presented at the 114th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that “age may be more related to reactions to stress and the absence of disease rather than to a person’s chronological age…“ Chronic stress, the kind that drags on rather than being just a momentary crisis, can drastically affect hormonal levels and shift the body’s hormonal balance.

Researcher Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco, says it is likely that the imbalance in the hormones is responsible for many of the psychiatric and medical diseases associated with aging. Epel also said that chronically elevated cortisol reduces lean mass, bone density and shifts fat distributions that can precede the onset of many age-related diseases like osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease and major depression.

An article “Chronic Stress May Make You Age Faster” states that older adults often face chronic stress in the form of social isolation, bereavement, financial stress and caregiving. However, not all adults handle chronic stress the same way. Those able to take such stressors in stride often look younger than more stressed adults their age.

But there is good news: a healthy lifestyle and exercise can modify some of the hormonal effects that seem to accelerate aging. The article gave out some stress management techniques which I used as a benchmark against how I was doing in these areas:

* moderate exercise (reason why I am into yoga!)

* adequate sleep (this is still an area I need a lot of work on)

* being able to manage one’s goals and expectations (a trial and error situation till now but I am continuing to learn)

* accepting that one cannot always control things (yes, I used to be a control freak; I am learning to let go more often…)

* finding meaning in life (the raison d’etre for my other blog, Here’s to Life!)

* strengthening social ties (one of the major reasons why I am into blogging. I draw life from being around young bloggers)

* having spiritual or religious beliefs (being part of a prayer community for many years has given me a link to the Divine that I call on under stressful situations)

Are the effects of aging stress reversible?

If I go by my own personal experience, the answer is a resounding and reassuring YES!!!

Go ahead. Take the age test. Go ask a friend how old he/she thinks you are. Do not be upset by the answer if it was not what you expected. Take their answer as a chance to honestly look at yourself in the mirror and see how the stress you are subject to is affecting how you look. Identify those stressors and see what stress management techniques you can apply to start you off on the road to reversing its aging effects.

Do something NOW, while your body has not yet fallen into the disease traps set by stress. This is your gift not only to your loved ones, but most especially, a gift to YOURSELF!

Yoga…in the Olympics????

Today — August 8, 2008 — marks the opening of the Olympics in Beijing, China.

As usual, I hope to follow my favorite event, gymnastics. For some reason, this event always mesmerizes me and holds me in awe. I hold my breath as the gymnasts leap in the air, somersault and land on their feet. The floor exercises of the girls keep me glued to the TV set. I always love to watch these dance routines combined with gymnastics.

But can you believe that there seems to be a serious move to include a new event in the 2012 or 2020 Olympics? In an article on The Wall Street Journal Asia, John Krich writes that India is planning to make a pitch for New Delhi to be the venue of this Olympics — and they want yoga to be included as an event!

In Ashtanga News, they reported that ashtanga yoga could be included as a demonstration sport in Beijing. I just came from the Beijing Olympics website however and could not find yoga anywhere in the events listed so it is just possible it was not included anymore for this year.

Chinese pictogram representing yoga

But let’s go back to India’s bid to make it a competitive sport in the Olympics.

There are obviously 2 opposing schools of thought here.

THOSE IN FAVOR

Those in favor of yoga becoming an Olympic competitive sport are mostly practitioners of Bikram Yoga. The Bikram founder’s wife, Rajashree Choudhury, brought the competitions to the U.S. from India and competitions are largely organized by those who practice Bikram yoga.

Competitive yoga can be found even in the ancient home of yoga — India — where it is a sport in some Indian schools today. Since 1989 there has been a Worldwide Yoga Championship where participants from about 20 countries show off their athletic, artistic and rhythmic yoga asanas. Mr. Gopal Ji, son of a famous yoga guru and Executive Director of World Yoga Council of International Yoga Federation, relates the case of taekwondo which began as a demonstration sport during the 1988 Seoul Olympics and became a full event 12 years later. At that time, taekwondo had far fewer participants, he contends. He strongly sees yoga becoming a full Olympic event down the road.

THOSE WHO OPPOSE IT

Those opposed to the idea give different reasons for it: yoga was never meant to be a competition but one’s journey with one’s self; questions about who can judge if one’s asana is more perfect than the other’s; what will then distinguish a yogi from a contortionist; that this is just focused on the outward asana pose and not on the stillness of mind of the competing yogi.

Yoga began as a Hindu discipline. Aside from the physical positions, it involves discipline of the mind as well as controlled breathing. Many yoga devotees, in India and in other countries, feel uncomfortable with the thought that yoga would become one where contestants would vie for honors — where there would be clear winners and losers.

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

When I was introduced to yoga, it was initially from the physical standpoint (the asanas). Taken per se, that would be the primary focus of competitive yoga if ever it becomes an Olympic event. How the organizers would qualify the athletes for this by separating real yogis from contortionists or simply flexible athletes is another thing to hurdle. I would not mind seeing it performed in the Olympics. It would be interesting to watch.

However, I would hesitate to attribute the title “yoga” to such an event because yoga itself encompasses more than just the asanas. It includes one’s mental state, the breathing, the lifestyle, and more. It advocates ahimsa (non-violence) to one’s body and accepting where you are at every moment. In my case, yoga is my own journey and each yogi’s journey is different from everyone else’s.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you like to see yoga in the Olympics? Why or why not?

Yoga Journal Goes Green

In an unprecedented move, Yoga Journal has gone one step further to protect Mother Earth and go green.

It published its May 2008 issue in digital form in cooperation with Zinio, a company that sells and distributes popular magazines in digital form.

I believe it is a wonderful move, a timely one, what with everyone concerned about the greenhouse effect all over the world.

Yoga Journal made their maiden digital issue available for free and I was able to get a copy. After previewing my copy earlier this is what I have to say — this is NOT just a digital copy like a PDF file that you read via Adobe Reader!

- you can flip through the pages by clicking the corners of the magazine (just like you would with a printed mag)

- multimedia is embedded into selected pages. For example, when you go to the editorial page, hover your cursor over the bottom of the editorial page, where you may see a tiny arrow. Click that and a tiny screen opens at the bottom and a video of Kaitlin Quistgaard, editor-in-chief, comes on with Kaitlin explaining what you can expect to find in their first digital edition.

- hyperlinks are available everywhere! Anything underlined is a link to another part of the magazine. In fact, advertisements have hyperlinks back to their websites (now, isn’t that NEAT?)

- a scroll bar at the bottom of the online Zinio reader allows you to drag it to fast forward or double back to any page, just like flipping through the pages of the magazine. As you are dragging the scroll bar, thumbnails of the pages are shown so you know exactly when to stop “thumbing” through it.

And after previewing this, if you feel that you want to subscribe to digital issues, you can head over to Zinio, create your own account, and order online (NOTE: I have not yet personally tried subscribing via Zinio so here is a caveat for all readers to exercise all prudent care and practice internet safety for online transactions). However, Zinio says on their site that they are “hacker safe” and that their site is secured by digital certificates. Zinio comes with its own downloadable offline reader so you can download your subscription magazines and read offline at your leisure.

A yogi friend, in an earlier online chat, commented that he still liked to read his magazines in print and said it was still convenient to bring to the toilet “so as not to get bored“. J, you can always bring your laptop to the toilet!

Yoga Journal allows this maiden digital issue to be forwarded via email to friends so if you want your own digital copy, post in the comment section below and I will try to have it emailed to you.

Thank you, Yoga Journal, for your wonderful contribution to Earth Day!

And to you all…

Namaste.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!!!

I can’t help but know it’s summer already. And it has just began. All the telltale signs are there.

I step fresh out of the shower — am sweating already — and I haven’t even put on my clothes yet!

I’m a coffee drinker but these days, I can’t get myself to drink anything piping hot! Cappuccino has been replaced by Frapuccino.

Am beginning to dislike having to put on my corporate look (long-sleeved blazer and lined skirt) and prefer to wear the sleeveless look.

Throat feels perenially parched.

The office water dispenser is the most frequent pitstop nowadays.

Shades are a MUST accessory in my handbag.

Fewer people are dining al fresco. Suddenly, the airconditioned spots of a resto are filled up so fast that you probably need to specify when you make reservations, “Airconditioned area PLEASE!“

Everyone’s shopping cart has at least a half dozen bottles of water. I find myself buying BOXES of water — plain AND flavored.

Our dog, who used to run and greet us, now dozes unmindful of us in the coolest part of the patio.

All yoga classes now seem to be like Bikram (hot yoga).

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This is the time of year when this yogini, who was confined twice in a row last year due to terrible, second-only-to-giving-birth pains from kidney stones (and lived to blog about it), has to remind herself to –

HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!

Here are some FAQs you need to know:

* Dehydration is the loss of water and salts from the body. We need water to maintain enough blood and other fluids to function properly, and to maintain our blood pressure. Along with the fluids, the body also needs electrolytes, which are salts normally found in blood, other fluids, and cells.

* You can lose water in various ways (urinating, vomiting or having diarrhea, sweating, and even from just breathing!)

* Some early signs of dehydration are a dry mouth, thirst, and less energy. More advanced signs include fatigue, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, headache, rapid shallow breathing, high temperatures, rapid heart beat, and decreased alertness or complete loss of consciousness.

* Drink H2O even before you feel thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. In summer, you lose a lot of body fluids — FAST!!

* Coffee, tea, sodas or alcohol-containing beverages do not hydrate. In fact, they can be dehydrating agents. Water is better. For sports-minded people, flavored or active water is a good way to get more fluids into one’s system. Watch out though for the sugar and sodium content!

* Six to eight 8-oz glasses of water a day would be a great way to start. (I have a 2L water bottle on my office table. I fill it to the brim every day and try to consume it by end of day. It is an easy benchmark for me and ensures I get enough fluids into my body.)

* For us yogis and yoginis, preparing for a yoga class also means coming well hydrated. That means drinking lots of water hours before class. Drinking it too close to class might mean you will feel nature’s call in the middle of classes (a very discomforting feeling indeed!). But more importantly, hydrating AFTER a yoga class is very important to bring balance of liquids lost during class back into one’s system.

Don’t forget to hydrate yourself.

Here’s wishing we all have a wonderful, well-hydrated summer! Namaste….

Dharma Finds Its Way into Business

I never thought I would mention “Dow Jones” in this yoga blog. After all, that name is usually associated with business-speak. But just this once, I have to.

In step with its reputation for product innovation, Dow Jones created dharma indexes — a “family of faith-based equity market indexes that screen companies for compliance with Dharmic religious traditions.” This was done in cooperation with Dharma Investments, launched only last January 2008, to provide Hindu and Buddhist faith-based investing.

Dharma is a spiritual concept central to many religions originating in South Asia, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. About.com states that “Hinduism describes dharma as the natural universal laws whose observance enables humans to be contented and happy, and to save himself from degradation and suffering. Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual discipline that guides one’s life. Hindus consider dharma the very foundation of life.

The Dow Jones site further describes dharma:

“Dharma has a range of meanings that include ‘duty’, ‘law’, ‘ethics’, and ‘fundamental principle’ in Hindu traditions, and ‘teaching’ or ‘reality’ or ‘truth’ in Buddhism.

Two ethical principles relevant to the context of Dharma and crucial to the formation of the indexes include:

• Ahimsa/Karuna or non-violence
• Loka-samgraha/Metta or the concept of stewardship”

The Dow Jones Dharma Indexes then are the world’s very first indexes that aim to track the financial performance of companies all over the world that conform to dharmic principles. Aside from a global index, there will eventually be indexes for U.S., UK, Japan, India and China.

Over 3,000 companies worldwide will be tracked and screened for compliance. An advisory committee composed of religious leaders and scholars will observe these companies’ core values and mission, corporate governance, human rights, labor relations, socio-economic involvement and many other standards that conform to dharma. I guess on the top of the criteria list would be companies that encourage protection of the environment as well as non-violence towards animals. Sectors that would be considered “unacceptable” would be those engaged in tobacco, alcohol, gaming, casinos, defense, adult entertainment, and even pharmaceutical companies that use animals for their tests. Even mining and logging industries may be taboo since they affect the environment.

Yoga purists probably would never think of delving into investments. Would my yoga teacher/s make such investments?

But with such strict screening for dharma-compliance, one now gets a chance to invest in companies which are in accordance with one’s personal and religious beliefs.

I wonder how long it would be before we see a Philippine dharma index. Just looking at the unacceptables in the list above, you can almost imagine how many locally listed companies will be eliminated from the dharma list straight off!

Ever since quitting work years ago, I stayed away from playing the stock market (which I did quite actively and heavily when I was earning relatively well). Instead, I played safe with the family’s savings, knowing that resources would be limited and the kids were growing up with growing needs.

But if ever the time will come and a dharma list of Philippine companies gets drawn up, I will seriously look into investing once again.

Laughter Yoga Comes to Manila

They walk around greeting each other, handshaking, with resounding “Ho Ho’s” and “Ha Ha’s”. Very soon, what often starts out as fake laughter turns real.

The unique concept of Laughter Yoga and Laughter Club is the brain child of Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India, and his wife Madhuri Kataria. It does not require knowledge of asanas, no cracking of jokes — just plain and simple laughing.

Dr. Kataria believes that laughter is one of the best defenses against stress. He claims that “Twenty minutes of hearty laughter is equivalent to 10 minutes on an exercise bike.” Laughing fosters improved cardiovascular health and reduced blood pressure. Scientific studies show that laughter boosts our body’s oxygen and energy levels and also boosts levels of immune cells that attack cancer, infection and virus. Laughter releases endorphins, a natural pain killer that is responsible for the ‘runner’s high’. Those who run laughter clubs claim that laughter yoga sessions stimulate the lymphatic system and boost our immune system, and can reduce levels of stress poisons in our bodies by 50% or more within an hour.

Children laugh a lot; adults, however, need a stimuli to start laughing — which is why laughter clubs have been cropping up.

In a Feb. 10, 2008 Philippine Star article, laughter yoga has come to Manila. Elvie Estavillo, a businesswoman and mother of three, is starting laughter yoga in the Philippines and hopes to start the very first laughter club in the country soon. Elvie was diagnosed in 2000 with cysts in the breast and cervix but attributes “my healing to laughter–of course, with God’s help. But I was healed.”

Personally, I reserve judgement on the veracity of the healing claims of laughter yoga. But whatever benefits laughing brings can do no harm. At the very least, it helps one start out the day bright, with plenty of positive energy and without a doubt, laughter is definitely a de-stresser. Maybe there is indeed some truth to the title of a joke section in one of my favorite, long-time magazines, Reader’s Digest: LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE.

Want some idea of what laughter yoga is about? Watch this CNN video, thanks to Dr. Kataria’s YouTube channel.

Do Yoga and Beauty Go Together?

(Simhasana or Lion Pose)

To increase lip fullness and color — tap your lips with your index and middle fingers 5 times each day

To sculpt and narrow your nose — Breathe alternately out of each nostril

For crow’s feet — Open your eyes wide to smooth the lines

Pale? — Try downward dog to bring color to the complexion while oxygenating your skin

OK, HOLD IT THERE! ARE THESE YOGA BEAUTY TIPS FOR REAL?

One thing seems clear. In this age of Botox and collagen, there is a growing mass of people looking at healthy alternatives to maintaining youthfulness and beauty without the artificiality of face lifts and injections.

In a New York Times article by Alix Strauss, he reported that classes are sprouting all over the United States touting yoga facial toning to address everything from wrinkles to crow’s feet, to facial jowls, drooping mouths, and whatever else from the neck up. He writes: “Frownies and jowlies are under attack at the Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas, where guests are led through a series of 23 facial movements meant to release facial tension, lift droopy mouth corners and iron forehead wrinkles.” Some of those who attend these classes say it is about time we stop paying attention merely to exercising the body but pay attention also to the face.

Simhasana or Lion Pose, according to the Yoga Journal, “stimulates the platysma, a flat, thin, rectangular-shaped muscle on the front of the throat. The platysma, when contracted, pulls down on the corners of the mouth and wrinkles the skin of the neck. Simhasana helps keep the platysma firm as we age.”

Books are now being written on the subject. Two of these are Marie-Veronique Nadeau’s “The Yoga Facelift” and Annelise Hagen’s “The Yoga Face”.

Do medical specialists in skin and facial physiology agree?

Alix Strauss, in the same NYT article, quotes Dr. Gross, a dermatologist:

“Nothing is going to have a lasting benefit like Botox or filler or collagen injections,” said Dr. Dennis Gross, a Midtown Manhattan dermatologist, the author of “Your Future Face” and the creator of a skin-care line. But there are short-term improvements, he said.

“Facial stretches and yoga temporarily reduce the neurological impulses associated with stress and the grimaces that lead to the lines in your forehead,” he said. “The plumping of your lips is more a massage and only adds color for a few minutes.”

Even some yoga gurus remain skeptical, Strauss said.

“We’ve not discovered the fountain of youth, though people are always trying to obtain it,” said Rodney Yee of East Hampton, N.Y., a well-known yoga instructor, who was unaware these programs existed. “Yoga will add radiance to your face and relax you, which will make you look younger, but to just focus on the face is too specific and sounds more like a marketing ploy.”

My personal take on this subject? There is no harm in doing these yoga facial asanas. In fact, I think I will incorporate some of these in my own self-yoga practice. But I think that more than all these outer attempts at keeping one’s self youthful, the inner glow that one radiates comes about through a deep personal connection with our God, inner peace, contentment, non-violence towards others, and a healthy lifestyle.

I chanced upon this pledge in Sarah’s blog which she got from Harriet of Feed Me. Feel free to download it and use as a bookmark. Click HERE to download.

Wishing you love, light and inner beauty always. Namaste.

Does Lululemon’s VitaSea line contain seaweed or not?

There’s no question about it. Lululemon Athletica is known all over the yoga community as being one of the primary sources of yoga clothing and accessories. Pricey, yes. But very comfy and dries up almost immediately, if I go by the satisfied comments of friends who have bought Lululemon yoga attire during trips abroad.

So it was quite a shocker for me to come across a New York Times article that disputes the claim of Lululemon that its VitaSea fabric line contained seaweed.

NYT claims it commissioned a lab test of a VitaSea shirt, and reviewed the lab results of another similar test. Both tests allegedly show that “there was no significant difference in mineral levels between the VitaSea fabric and cotton T-shirts.” NYT said that the shirt it tested had a label claiming it was made of 70 percent cotton, 6 percent spandex and 24 percent of the seaweed fiber. Seaweed fiber in clothing is touted to reduce stress and provide anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits.

The article goes on to state “Seaweeds have known vitamins and minerals, and we searched specifically for those vitamins, and we didn’t see them,” said Carolyn J. Otten, director for specialized services at Chemir Analytical Services, a lab in Maryland Heights, Mo. that tested a sample of VitaSea.

A second lab test commissioned by NYT and done by “the McCrone Group, to test a blue racer-back tank top made with Lululemon’s VitaSea against a gray J. Crew T-shirt. McCrone, which is based in Westmont, Ill., likewise could not detect any seaweed-specific components. Though the labs could not absolutely rule out a trace of seaweed, they could not, using sensitive testing methods, substantiate Lululemon’s claims.”

So, is this a question of seemingly false advertising? Was Lululemon a little remiss in substantiating the claims of its suppliers of such organic materials which result in the heftier-than-normal price tags of their products? Or were the lab tests inconclusive?

The article goes on to say that Lululemon executives stated that they had not independently tested the VitaSea material. My reaction: This is a lesson learned (if Lululemon’s claim is true). If Lululemon, a public company, expects to be upheld by the yoga community as one that is honest, straightforward and intent on providing the best organic materials to its consumers, it better conduct random tests of each product line to ensure that the materials it claims are present are indeed, present.

Lululemon’s CEO, Bob Meers, issued a statement last Nov. 16, 2007 in their website stating:

“We are altering the labels on our VitaSea products in our Canadian stores, in cooperation with The Competition Bureau of Canada, to remove references to the therapeutic and performance attributes of the VitaSea technology. It is important to note that the Bureau takes no issue with the material content as described on our care and content labels. Independent testing has confirmed the presence of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids in the VitaSea fabric. Separately, in order to ensure complete transparency and accuracy, we are voluntarily altering the references to the therapeutic and performance attributes on VitaSea hang tags in all markets globally. In order to ensure the integrity of our product labelling, we are conducting a review of the therapeutic attributes described on all product hang tags. We take pride in our quality, technical apparel and will continue to deliver innovative fabrics and garments to our guests.”

There is just one thing I am not comfortable with in this NYT article and that is its one-line sentence that goes: “The Times commissioned its test after an investor who is shorting Lululemon’s stock — betting that its price will fall — provided Chemir’s test results to The Times”. This shareholder’s motives, in my mind, beg the question: Was it ethical for NYT to use Chemir’s test results, provided by a shareholder who was obviously banking on Lululemon’s stock prices to fall, to be its springboard for another lab test to confirm the first test?

I guess as consumers we need to be extra careful about immediately going for products that make claims like ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘mineral’, ‘eco-friendly’ and the like as these terms are oftentimes used without solid proof backing up such claims. But companies like Lululemon, who have big names to protect, need to go that extra mile to ensure that all its product claims are certified, tested and 100% accurate.

What are your own thoughts on the matter?

Update (Nov. 19, 2007): In the Women’s Wear Daily site, an update article states that “The yogawear company has commissioned its own test confirming that its VitaSea product does in fact contain seaweed — contradicting tests conducted by the Times and an investor shorting Lululemon stock who tipped the paper off, which alleged that the product’s labeling falsely advertised its fabric contents.” The New York Times, however, continues to stand by its article.