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Yoga

Write your own health prescription: get up and move

Jen Rini
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Mabes Morrill instructs her yoga class at Westminster Village in Dover. Mabes, age 93, started yoga because she had arthritis.

Mabes Morrill, 93, looks as though she could walk on air. Albeit petite, her lean posture seems to elongate her body naturally as she walks.

It's hard to believe that the Dover, Del.-based yoga instructor has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for over 50 years. When she was first diagnosed, she couldn't even turn her head.

Her secret? Yoga.

"I'm 93 years old. Yoga has made me what I am," Morrill said.

Morrill says her arthritis is "under complete control" and she gives back by teaching the practice at Westminster Village, a senior living community in Dover.

Her little yogis, as she calls them, each learn deep breathing, stretching, relaxation and strengthening on their own terms. Some are regaining motion from knee replacement surgeries and others are trying to boost bone health to stave off height shrinkage as long as possible.

The yogis are onto something that research proves. Experts say becoming physically active not only helps lose weight, but increases overall body function.

There's been a movement in the last few years to focus on increased physical activity to improve health rather than exercise to improve fitness, says Elizabeth Orsega-Smith, professor of behavioral health and nutrition at the University of Delaware.

Wilma Reichl, right of Smyrna in Mabes Morrill's yoga class at Westminster Village in Dover. Mabes, age 93, started yoga because she had arthritis.

Adds fellow behavioral health and nutrition faculty member Mike Mackenzie, there's no bad time to start increasing the physical activity or exercise. The benefits are real. Physical activity will help you sleep better, make healthier food choices and get through the day more alert and aware.

"As much as these prescriptions are really helping, the most important prescription is getting someone to do something regularly," Mackenzie said.

After two weeks, those participating in the Move it Delaware! challenge may already feel some of those effects and guess what — hey, are only going to get better.

As you keep moving it 150 minutes a week, keep note of some of the perks of regular physical activity. Here's what to look for:

Stress relief

Regular activity lowers levels of cortisol, a hormone released during stress, as well as muscle tension.

"I don't get stressed out about anything," Morrill says.

Yoga has helped both her mind and body, especially the sun salutation pose. The move begins with a long back stretch reaching toward the "sun" and continues into a sequence of forward bends and floor stretches in a fluid motion.

"We say it's better for your body than the treadmill," she said.

Improved mood

With a decrease in stress comes an increase in laugh lines.

"There's a relationship between regular physical activity and improved trends of well-being," Orsega-Smith said.

Physical activity boosts neurotransmitters in the brain called endorphins. The endorphins can cause the "runner's high" or other type of energetic boost post-activity or workout.

Sometimes it can last up to four hours after, Mackenzie said.

Sharper mind

The brain isn't necessarily a muscle, Mackenzie said, but it needs healthy blood flow, which can be improved with physical activity.

Active people "don't get those declines in processing," he said.

Sandy Gloss of Smyrna in Mabes Morrill's yoga class at Westminster Village in Dover. Mabes, age 93, started yoga because she had arthritis.

They have better blood flow and adult neurogenesis, meaning their brains continually create neurons that may increase memory and learning function.

The concept of neurogenesis is still being researched, Mackenzie said, but activity does help increase mental accuracy and speed.

Mackenzie, who researches the relationship exercise has with cancer patients, says that there also are studies that exercise can help with "chemo brain," a condition that occurs following chemotherapy that can cause lapses in memory.

Decreased cancer risk

While the childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed, implementing a routine of physical activity early on can not only help to combat high childhood obesity rates, but have long-term gains as well.

"You can see a decreased risk of cancer," Orsega-Smith said. "A lot of that is associated with obesity and overweight."

Being overweight or obese is a risk factor, and being fat in and of itself doesn't cause cancer. But fat tissue can produce higher amounts of certain hormones such as adipokines and estrogen, which can increase the risk of breast and other cancers.

Strong heart

A person's physical activity affects his or her heart rate recovery. Health experts can assess heart health by looking at how quickly your heart recovers, Mackenzie said.

"The faster your heart recovers, the healthier you are," he said.

People who are more active exert at a lower heart rate, which means the heart is stronger.

"It needs to do less work. Then when it does go up it's already low. It doesn't need to go up as much," Mackenzie explained.

More coordination

It will be easier to do everyday tasks, from getting up from a chair to lifting groceries, because you will have more muscle strength. Overall balance and coordination will improve, Orsega-Smith said.

"That is something that is important with the baby boomer population and the people reaching into the older adulthood. Typically you see a decrease in physical activity, decrease in independence. When people start to lose their balance that can be one indicator that they can be at risk for falls," she said.

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