Why You Should Get Into Yoga

At 6:30 in the morning in early spring, it’s still dark. Students participating in the first yoga class of the day at Postels Community Health Park arrive to find the yoga room dimly lit and the sounds of quiet, meditative music.

Instructor Ashley Nelson has been there for about 90 minutes already. She’ll tell you that it is “me time.” Ashley credits her yoga practice for helping her to care for her family and to stay energized towards her work, among many other benefits.

Each session begins with getting centered and scanning the body to honor the parts that might be tender or holding some tension. It’s a time to set an intention for emotional balance, self-acceptance, and honoring where we are in the moment.

Poses and postures flow from one into another, a vinyasa, and in the morning, this is an awakening of the body, mind, and spirit. As the class progresses through the hour, the room begins to fill with light.  It’s a beautiful way to begin the day. The class is designed for those with yoga experience but can be modified for those who want to begin. Modifications and alternatives for poses are provided throughout the class to make it safe, yet challenging.

The benefits of yoga are well documented – increased strength, stamina, range of motion, flexibility, and balance are just a few highlights. Because it is often considered a moving meditation, movement and breathing intentionally sync together throughout the practice, it is very beneficial for those who live with depression, anxiety, stress, or just the “blues.”

GRMC’s Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center provides yoga classes throughout the day. Yoga and group exercise classes are included with membership to the fitness center. The class schedule can be found at www.grmc.us/classes and events/fitness and wellness classes.  You may also call the Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center at 641-236-2999 for more information.

What is Radon and Why Should I Be Concerned?

Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of homes with high levels of radon gas. Radon is an odorless, tasteless, radioactive gas that is produced from the decay of naturally occurring uranium in the soil.

Risks occur when this gas enters buildings and people breathe in the gas, which can damage lungs and cause lung cancer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, all of Iowa is located in Zone 1, meaning that Iowa homes have a very high potential for elevated levels of radon gas.

Grinnell Regional Public Health offers a radon testing kit for $5. This kit measures radon levels and based on the results, you can determine if a radon mitigation action plan is needed. To receive a $5 testing kit, stop by Grinnell Regional Public Health at the Light Center for Community Health, 305 4^th Avenue, Grinnell; call the Radon Hotline at 800-383-5992; or order online at www.IDPH.State.IA.US/radon.

Best Nap Ever

It’s the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the state of Iowa.

And if it is caught early, it can be highly treatable. Like 90 percent treatable.

But that doesn’t add up, does it? The second leading cause of death in the state of Iowa for something that the Iowa Department of Public Health says is often preventable and 90 percent treatable if it is detected early.

So, why is it killing so many of us?

Because we’re a little squeamish about getting a colonoscopy.

Without a doubt, getting a colonoscopy is not on anyone’s List of Fun Things to Do. Here’s the thing, seven out of ten people diagnosed with colon cancer had no symptoms or signs. It was found through screening.

Thirty-six hours of prep and procedure and recovery for the peace of mind of knowing the health of your colon and large intestine. These days the prep is easier than ever. A clear liquid diet the day before, a few hours spent very close to the lavatory, and a pretty early morning the next day, is really the tough part. Your surgical team has performed hundreds of these procedures. It’s a pretty terrific 30 minute nap, thanks to anesthesia. You lie down and the next thing you know, you wake up in the recovery area. And that’s it.

If you have a family history of colon cancer or polyps, any chronic disease such as ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, or Crohn’s Disease, or are 50 years of age, your doctor has probably talked to you about getting screened.

So, what’s your excuse?

http://www.idph.state.ia.us/igs/Public.aspx

Can Spring Daylight Savings Time Increase Your Risk of Heart Attack?

One of the single most important things you can do to stay healthy in body, mind, and spirit, is to get adequate sleep every night.

We all know what it’s like when we set the clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time in the spring of the year. We “spring ahead” setting our clocks forward one hour starting this weekend. When you go to bed on Saturday night, you will move your clock from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Where the rubber will most likely meet the road is on Sunday evening when you make yourself go to bed at 9 p.m., wide awake because you know that your 6 a.m. alarm is going to feel like 5.

You may want to start going to bed a little earlier each night until Monday. A 2012 study from the University of Alabama shows that the switch to Daylight Savings Time increases the risk of heart attack on that first Monday and Tuesday after the time change by 10 percent. Frankly, most of us have a different sleep schedule on the weekends versus weekdays that often makes getting going on Monday mornings a drag already. If you are shepherding a household with children and teens, this can make for an even more dramatic Monday than usual.  

This study further demonstrates that even a small shift in our sleeping patterns can have an effect on our overall health and wellbeing. There is a wealth of resources online for helping you enhance the quality of your sleep naturally. From the obvious limiting of caffeine intake, ways to make the room and bed more conducive to sleep, adequate daily physical activity, and more, you can find simple lifestyle changes to help.

When these aren’t working or your sleep issues are affecting your daily life, seek the help of a physician specializing in sleep medicine. GRMC has a sleep clinic with Melisa A. Coaker, MS, MD. Dr. Coaker is also a part of the Mercy Sleep Clinic in Des Moines. The sleep lab offers testing three nights a week. Dr. Coaker sees patients in Grinnell the first and third Tuesday of each month. To make an appointment, call 515-358-9640.

For more information, go to:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120307162555.htm

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379

http://www.cicdoc.com/sleep.html