Stretching for a better immune system!

Seeing as I'm always sick, I should probably do anything I can to stay healthy.

Today, I dabbled with stretching. Inversions in particular are supposed to be particularly immune-boosting. By inversion, I mean anything where your legs are over your head and you are virtually upside-down.

I thought a good shoulder stand would do just the trick  (see the picture for a much sexier version of what I just did). I feel better already! Maybe.

More information from Martha:

Help your body ward off infections this winter by practicing the following routine. Its twists, backbends, and inversions stimulate your main immunity components -- the adrenal glands and lymphatic system -- helping them perform better.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Stretching Solutions 

Work is a pain in the...

After a lovely trip to my friend's cabin in Vermont last weekend, I have been left pretty sore from the long car ride. In particular, I have some pretty annoying leg cramps that are partiuclarly painful.

I found a Martha article that offered some words of advice: "Wipe Out Office Aches and Pains". I turned to the stretch meant for legs, figuring it would work on some pains caused by sitting for a long while.

I sat on a chair in my apartment and brought each knee in succession up to my chest and held for 15 seconds or so. When I released, I definitely felt some tension fading away in my legs, a welcome reprieve from the tightness. I'll have to try this while I'm working as well!

Instructions:

LegsMore than any other part of the body, the legs are built primarily for movement. Sitting and keeping them still all day impedes their function, according to Orr, restricting circulation to the lower extremities and causing your hip, knee, and ankle joints to become stiff and inflexible.

Solution: Knee into chestWhat it does: Stretches the hamstrings, hips, and lower back.
How to do it: Sit tall at the edge of your chair with legs in line with your hips. Interlace your fingers behind your right thigh, and bring your right knee into your chest; hold it there. Keep your spine tall as you inhale for a count of five, then exhale for a count of five. Take five breaths. Switch sides and repeat.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Wipe Out Office Aches and Pains

Tendonitis fix

For the past month or so, my right wrist has been acting up. My doctor calls it tendonitis. I call it "I slept on it funny."

Either way, it's not pretty. In between icing, taking Allieve twice a day and using an ace bandage, I am usually really uncomfortable and restricted... which is no good.

Today, I decided to try the "Martha method," Wrist Stretches. I guess these aren't really a quick fix, but I figured it would be worth a try. At least, it couldn't hurt (too badly).

How to Do It
1. Sit or stand with spine tall, and extend your left arm out so your wrist is directly in front of your left shoulder, palm facing down.
2. Bend your wrist to point your fingers toward the floor, then rotate the wrist so the fingers point to your right.
3. Use the palm of your right hand to gently push the back of your left hand. To intensify the stretch, curl the left fingers into a fist. Switch and repeat.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Wrist Stretches

Post stretch, I do feel better. Perhaps this is all in my head, but who knows! We'll see how it feels tomorrow.

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

I have a test tomorrow. On many biology things with names like "membrane attack complex" and "adrenocorticotropic stimulating hormone." And this is just the beginning. If/when I finally get to medical school, memorization and the stress of keeping a ridiculous number of minutiae in my tiny brain will undoubtedly take over my life.

All in all, I'm really going to have to learn how to deal with stress. Although I'm not totally freaking out right now, it's always good to practice some techniques for those bigger, more stressful moments that are soon to come.

Martha, correctly I think, suggests stretching as a way to ease the stress away. I was willing to give it a try. She has a list of some great stress-reducing exercises on her Whole Living site: from the Chest Opener to the basic Standing Body Hang. The best part is that all of these are ridiculously easy - perfect for a quick study break near bedtime.

Now, it's back to studying. The immune system is not going to memorize itself...

Yoga for runners? Runners for yoga?

Per my doctor's instructions, I have been attempting to motivate myself to make it to the gym. And I have (for the most part) been successful! Of course, all I manage to do while I am there is a meek run/walk combination on the treadmill while alternately watching some mix of crappy television/music videos on the gym TVs and reading my biology material which is, in one word, riveting.

Even this minimal amount of running has taken a bit of a toll on my legs. While I feel much better and my energy level has increased, running is a bit harsh on your legs. As a former cross country runner, I suffer from some fairly mild shin splints in both legs, which makes running slightly uncomfortable. Couple that with some old woman hips and here I am, hobbling around post-run like an arthritic seamstress.

So, as I with everything else in my life, I turned to Martha for some overdo tips and tricks to battle the post-run pain. And I found something I thought would be useful: Yoga Fixes for Running.

Tonight's run was a perfect opportunity. After struggling through thirty minutes on the treadmill, I tried some of Martha's poses, dancer's pose (above) and warrior II (to the right), in particular.

Dancer's pose, which I manage to master after almost falling on my face a few times, was a great stretch for my hips and quads, two of my weakest areas. It was a fantastic post-run stretch.

Warrior II, on the other hand is supposed to prevent stress on your knees. As a runner, this is something that cannot be undervalued. While my knees aren't hurting now, I know they will be a few years when I'm old and gnarled.

I'll definitely try to keep up with these two stretches post-run, in the hopes that they will ease some of my tightness and pain. This, plus my new gym routine, promises to make me happier and healthier.