Healing Connections

When planning an exercise routine, most people want to incorporate some type of walking, jogging, or running. The multiple benefits of such activities – cardiovascular, bone density, muscles, weight loss, and energy, to name a few – are enough to encourage most to add this physical activity to the exercise plan.

Many often wonder, however, whether it is more beneficial to walk, run, or jog on a treadmill or the roads. For the most part, the physical benefits are the same. These activities involve moving muscle and bone against the force of gravity, and using the hard surface of concrete gives a slight benefit over the treadmill. The exception is jogging which should be done on a less rigid surface like a track or a treadmill – even the actual road has a more forgiving surface than the sidewalk.

On a treadmill, you can adjust the speed, incline, and resistance to give a more intense workout. For those who want to gradually increase those levels to provide more of a challenge, the treadmill has those features. However, some people find the same challenges by altering the routes, increasing speeds, and wearing arm weights for resistance.

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Everyone knows the importance of exercise in keeping our bodies fit and healthy. There are exercises for the muscles from the neck down, including those which focus on the upper, core, and lower body. We have body specific exercises for body sculpting, aerobic exercises to benefit our heart, yoga and more. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense to have exercises to tone and strengthen the 57 muscles of our face, neck and scalp.

This new craze called ‘facial yoga’ is packing sessions in health clubs and yoga studios across the United States. For around $250, participants, mainly female ranging in age from 30 to 70, learn how to control and strengthen the face muscles by employing resistance and isometric contractions using the thumbs and fingers. The exercises are based on a common sense approach: boost the circulation to your face, neck, scalp, eyebrows, and temple. This increases oxygen which is good for the cells.

Not only is facial yoga tightening tired faces, but it also helps increase mobility in people with partial facial paralysis and problems like crooked smiles. A Houston-based yoga instructor, Rose Hong Tran, worked with local physicians to develop a specialized yoga facial toning technique. Tran has certified other instructors throughout Texas and in Atlanta to use her technique.

As with any exercise program, the hardest part is keeping them up. Try to get into a routine, doing the exercises each morning, evening, or when watching television or taking a bath. You can even do them while you wait in line at the store or a drive through if you dare! Most participants reported seeing results within two weeks with as little as five minutes of daily face exercises.

Here are some basic facial exercises you can try at home. Dermatologists stress that good form is key in obtaining desired results.

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Hair and its removal is a complete perplexity to most adults. Those that have it want easier methods to remove it, those that don’t have it look for ways to recapture it.

Shaving is the most common way to remove hair. It’s quick and simple but it has its drawbacks. Since the hair is only removed at skin level, it starts growing back in as little as one day. Shaving actually stimulates the hair follicle and speeds up growth causing your hair to come back thicker and coarser than before. It’s also a good way to get those little nicks and cuts that sting!

Tweezing removes hair below the skin level and has fairly long-lasting results. It’s most commonly used to remove facial hair, especially from the eyebrows. Tweezing is a slow and painful process, as each hair has to be pulled out. But, the upside is that if you do it over a long period of time, it can lead to permanent hair removal.

Threading can be used on any part of the body but is most commonly used on the chin, upper lip and eyebrows. Rows of stray hairs are yanked out with twists of cotton thread. It’s good for people with sensitive skin but requires a lot of attention to detail and again, this is a method that has the “ouch” factor.

Pumice stones can also be used for hair removal by rubbing the hair briskly without actually grinding into the skin. It can be used on any part of the body, except for the face, with surprisingly good results. This method has a good following of those who wish to do things the all-natural way (without pain).

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