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Hello Yevgen,
Three years? Wow... I had never stuck to any exercise for more than one year. I think that congratulations are in order. Please see some of my comments below.
Good point. In almost 3 years that we are doing the exercise,
we tried pretty much every entertainment imaginable,
including doing it with music. It is one of the good choices.
One disadvantage specific to having music in a background
with a kid (or beginner) is that you can not hear the sniffs
so you can not evaluate if they are doing it right. But once the
person is experienced and does not need a reminder to sniff loudly,
music is great, specially if the beat is not too fast or too slow
compared to your usual exercise frequency.
You actually tried it? I thought I was the only person that was
into this idea... Anyway it is working for me on and off for almost 15
years. I like it because it is more entertaining than just running
(and more useful as it involves upper body and hands, and not only
legs). It is almost like having a partner for the exercise, as the
stick has its own will and own dynamics, you need to fight it
as opposite to an exercise machine. Of cause there is a learning
curve until you get enough tricks that you can do confidently enough
that you can fill 30-40 minutes with them. On a downside, it is to be
used with caution (the stick IS heavy), as even after 15 years I am
occasionally getting hit although it was never anything serious.
I tried exercises with a weighted bar from one book called Escape Your Shape by Edward J. Jackowski. Never even came close to escaping my shape (LOL) even though his ideas on fitness seemed to be good. Also, I took out one end from my broom, and my broom was transformed into a stick. I have done various exercises with it. The stick seems to work for my relatives though. They exercise with a stick daily.
>I just do not like the names Norbekov gives to his
> books.
Yes, he is a bit over the top. But some ideas are not bad,
such as not taking yourself and what you are doing to gravely.
Indeed, all our problems are fleeting in the great scheme of things
so why not work on solving them with a smile :-)
Although there are many Russian authors whose ideas are good, there are quite a few of them who either copy from each other or steal work from the Western authors. I found that some of them even slid mud at Strelnikova. For instance, Frolov in his book states that Strelnikova exercises do damage to our organs even though he admits that a person "feels subjectively that he made a positive improvement in one's condition." Of course, he claims that his method of breathing is superior to any other method of breathing in existance.
> I think the explanation why these breathing exercises work is simple.
> Shetinin talks about it himself in his book. As oxygen goes into our
bodies, it
> revitalizes and invigorates all organs and systems. They begin to
work more
> efficiently. The contraction of chest with various movements makes
oxygen go
> deeper and everywhere in our bodies, so each organ and system can be
reached.
Interesting explanation. Of cause a lot of it have not been physically
tested - for example how do you test how deep increased oxygen
concentration reaches? I know there have been some studies, but they
were measuring the oxigination level in one place not in different
organs. With new ways of testing such as MRI I am sure we will learn
more about what is really going on.
Somehow I never tried yoga, but chinese exercises appear to focus
more on plasticity than on breathing although the do favour
shalow breathing which makes them compatible with Strelnikova. Than
again, china is big so you could bet there is an exercise for everything.
I wonder why in the past there was so much focus on things that
people do themselves to improve their health, while now everything
is supposed to be done "to you". This is some of the things where
state should step in and finance research and education. Obviously
medical community and farma companies are financially interested
in people statistically not being healthy which is partly
counter-balanced by competition that requires to demonstrate
individual results better than a competitor. So what we are getting
is a mixed picture with some localized great victories (widely
hyped) and and the same time the entire areas of health-care
statistics sinking through the cracks. 10% all kids have asthma and
need continious medications?? 10% of all kids are autistic and need
continuous medications??
Something is wrong with this picture... If we are doing
much better than the ancestors with infections, we
should be doing better with asthma and diabetis and all other
areas. As it apparently does not work with the same approach
(medications), than scientific method should turn to other approaches .
more on plasticity than on breathing although the do favour
shalow breathing which makes them compatible with Strelnikova. Than
again, china is big so you could bet there is an exercise for everything.
I wonder why in the past there was so much focus on things that
people do themselves to improve their health, while now everything
is supposed to be done "to you". This is some of the things where
state should step in and finance research and education. Obviously
medical community and farma companies are financially interested
in people statistically not being healthy which is partly
counter-balanced by competition that requires to demonstrate
individual results better than a competitor. So what we are getting
is a mixed picture with some localized great victories (widely
hyped) and and the same time the entire areas of health-care
statistics sinking through the cracks. 10% all kids have asthma and
need continious medications?
continuous medications?
Something is wrong with this picture... If we are doing
much better than the ancestors with infections, we
should be doing better with asthma and diabetis and all other
areas. As it apparently does not work with the same approach
(medications)
You are right about our modern methods of treatments. Conventional medicine is very popular in our society. In fact, swallowing pills is a "great" way to maintain one's health or to "get" it back. As a society, we tend to like methods of treatment that work extremely fast. Therefore, swallowing pills and getting a quick and temporary fix is often preferable to doing something else, such as trying alternative methods of treatment that might not work as fast. I think pharmaceutical companies are partially to blame for this way of thinking.
I also have noticed that it really only takes a few exercises
to feel the effect on the mood.
That is certainly much better than swallowing antidepressants.
I noticed that I started to take more risks and actions in my life. May be, it is due to increased confidence that these exercises gave me or the fact that they tend to lessen one's anxiety temporarily. This is very helpful, especially when one needs to deal with other people who are often the sources of stress. I am sure there are just as many mental benefits to these exercises as there are physical benefits. They certainly have ability to lift one's spirit.
to feel the effect on the mood.
That is certainly much better than swallowing antidepressants.
I noticed that I started to take more risks and actions in my life. May be, it is due to increased confidence that these exercises gave me or the fact that they tend to lessen one's anxiety temporarily. This is very helpful, especially when one needs to deal with other people who are often the sources of stress. I am sure there are just as many mental benefits to these exercises as there are physical benefits. They certainly have ability to lift one's spirit.
There is at least one way how it does certainly help. As it
improves mood, and people sometimes eat a treat or two to "cheer
themselves up", it clearly provides an alternative way to cheer up.
It also does take away some of the free time that people otherwise
might be using to grab a snack :-)
improves mood, and people sometimes eat a treat or two to "cheer
themselves up", it clearly provides an alternative way to cheer up.
It also does take away some of the free time that people otherwise
might be using to grab a snack :-)
On the bright side, they can do this exercise even in front of the
TV, and feeling of being tired usually disapears after the first
exercise. So no excuses really. Of cause in the forums people often
just want to talk, the subject is less important :-)
Specially with a kid counting is very useful because it gives
a measure of a progress. If you are half-through, and 3/2 through,
the whole motivation goes up.
We figured out what I think is a perfect method, which is to
count each 8 sniffs as ONE bend finger. As you have 10 fingers, it
results in 80 sniffs per exercise which is somewhat less than 12x8
recommended but for that you will never lose count and have a visual
(!) indication of the progress.
This method can have a lot of entertaining
variations, for example the kid can count the 8ths and than snap
with fingers or give a clap, and than partner bends the finger.
Then you switch turns.
While devised for the kid, it became so automatic that I am
counting with fingers even if I do it by myself, just because
it eliminates the need to think about it.
TV, and feeling of being tired usually disapears after the first
exercise. So no excuses really. Of cause in the forums people often
just want to talk, the subject is less important :-)
Specially with a kid counting is very useful because it gives
a measure of a progress. If you are half-through, and 3/2 through,
the whole motivation goes up.
We figured out what I think is a perfect method, which is to
count each 8 sniffs as ONE bend finger. As you have 10 fingers, it
results in 80 sniffs per exercise which is somewhat less than 12x8
recommended but for that you will never lose count and have a visual
(!) indication of the progress.
This method can have a lot of entertaining
variations, for example the kid can count the 8ths and than snap
with fingers or give a clap, and than partner bends the finger.
Then you switch turns.
While devised for the kid, it became so automatic that I am
counting with fingers even if I do it by myself, just because
it eliminates the need to think about it.
Great method of keeping control on sniffs! Believe it or not, I thought of it myself too. Thank you for telling me this.
Good luck with your measurements. As they usually fluctuate
depending on the time of the day etc it would make sense
to collect the statistics of many measurements each day
and actually plot them so that you can see the tendency
despite fluctuations.
Good luck with your measurements. As they usually fluctuate
depending on the time of the day etc it would make sense
to collect the statistics of many measurements each day
and actually plot them so that you can see the tendency
despite fluctuations.
I did notice that my pulse rate seems to go down after about three hours from doing these exercises from 82 to about 70. My blood pressure is usually about 135/95, but the diastolic pressure can go a few points higher under stress. One time, I did notice it went down to 88, which has never happened before. When I measured it again almost immediately, it was back to 94-95. I am still not sure about the effects of these exercises on my blood pressure. I think time and taking more measurements will tell.
I noticed that it helps we to reduce the number and severity of colds
that I am getting. So here is an additional motivation for you - the
cold season is starting...
that I am getting. So here is an additional motivation for you - the
cold season is starting...
You bet. It should be motivating enough.
Good luck with that! As with any results having a baseline
of multiple measurements a day over some period of time before
and after would allow to say clearly if you have an effect or
not.
Since you have been doing them for 3 years, what exactly are the benefits of these exercises that you and your child have noticed? Can you briefly list all of them? It would be interesting to find out. It also would have been interesting to find out the length of time it took you and your child to reach them.
Best Regards,
Mark
Regards,
Yevgen
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