Good morning homies! So, what’s the plan for this beautiful Sunday? A morning walk, jogs, sprint or run? Perhaps cycling or skating? Or then, with the rains still blessing us, are you getting ready for an in-house session of yoga, Pilates, aerobics, HIIT, tai-chi or something that even I have not heard of? With the outdoors open to us once again, virtually every sport is within reach. If nothing else, carrying out some of the household chores too count as exercise. Before I carry on, just think of the limbs used most by us in any kind of sports activity.
It's so wonderful to see how the young and old have taken advantage of the lockdown to engage in some form of exercise or sport. Being cooped up in an apartment for days together did not dampen the spirits; in fact, I saw many instances of innovative gyms on social media - made with furniture and regular household equipment. Though some ideas were good or funny, many were outright dangerous and not recommended at all.
If I were to ask you for one good reason why one should take up some form of exercise, especially now? I can predict most would say “We have time on our hands to get into shape”. Yes! That is correct. However, the more important reason is because COVID is more prone to attack the unfit and obese. Now I am not saying this as a scary story being told to a child to do something the child is reluctant to. Research in the USA has found that unfit-obese people are twice at risk of contracting SARS-Cov2, with 74% landing in ICU and 48% failing to recover. It is well established globally that the COVID virus loves fat as it attaches itself to fat cells and feeds off it to multiply. More so, since the symptoms mimic pneumonia, it is evident that those with weak heart and lungs need oxygen and ventilator support. Please consider what I have just stated as an incentive to change your lifestyle to an active one and take some unnecessary weight off your body.
As an octogenarian myself, it gives me so much pleasure to see the younger generation taking their health seriously. Disparaging as it may sound, if our legs had any other name – it would be donkeys – based on how we use and abuse them. Did you know that our legs have some of the most vulnerable joints in our body, especially the knees? Knee pain is among the most common reasons people go to their doctors – and if you look at the anatomy of this joint, you can see why. Knees lack the bony protection of a ball-and-socket joint, yet they carry most of your weight and absorb the impact when you walk, run or jump. As hinge joints, they bend in only one plane of motion. And while a network of strong ligaments works to keep your knees stable, they are still the most vulnerable joints in your body.
Our daily activities such as walking, climbing steps, squatting, or bending and carrying heavy loads all require the muscles in your lower body to work together to perform these essential tasks. When your leg muscles are weak, or not performing at their best, your daily activity, as well as your physical fitness, can take a major hit. Plus, a strong lower body helps prevent injuries. And according to the American Council on Exercise, exercise of the large muscle groups may also help boost hormonaland insulin levels, especially in adults over the age of 35.
In the same breath, I would also like to caution that various parts of our legs – the hip - thigh – knee – calf – ankle – heel – foot – toes are all susceptible to injury from the activities they perform, especially while playing sports that require the need of legs. Even sitting incorrectly can cause serious issues. Fractures, sprains, dislocation, splints, muscle-tissue tears, inflammation, cartilage wear, and many more are unfortunate perils. We all may have experienced one or the other such problem at some stage in our life. The older we get, the longer it takes to heal, and if the injury is a serious one – surgery, casts, and binds become inevitable.
From a holistic healing point of view, the foot – just like the hand – can find a representation for every part of the body. Therefore, stimulating (massaging) certain part of the foot has a direct impact on the corresponding part of the body. That’s the reason Prof. Park of Korea called his treatment Su-JOK (Hand-foot). Ancient Indian wisdom had discovered this long before Prof. Park. The principles of ayurvedic massage are based on the very same hypothesis. Having read this, you would have understood why pressing of hands and feet was considered an important ritual, and still is. It is also the main reason why walking barefoot is considered a vital health tonic – it’s a way of self-stimulating key pressure points within the body – thereby releasing the required elixirs manufactured by the body’s own pharmacy.
Last Sunday (13th September) I showed you how to carryout self-treatment for shoulder and arms. Going by the same principle, our middle and ring fingers correspond to our Legs, i.e. Hips, thighs, knees, calf muscles, and lower part of legs, ankles, feet, and toes as shown in figure given here under. For pain in any of these parts of the legs take a stretchable ring and move it up and down on the area corresponding to affected part of leg as shown in accompanying figure or in the attached video. But for foot, toes and the hip area use thumb pad as shown. Paste fenugreek (methi) seeds with micro surgical tape on the stimulated part at night.
As a preventive measure if one makes it as a practice to move the stretchable ring moving on all four fingers for four to times on finger joints and phalanges, twice a day one can keep the body healthy. One can find detailed treatment for various health problems in legs, such as arthritis, sports injury, trembling of any part, neuralgia, swelling, rickets, cramps, numbness, spasm, inability to rise after sitting etc. on our website, www.artofselfhealing.in. For the mass training in Art of Self-Healing organise group training we shall be happy to cooperate. So Good Luck! Or Break a Leg! Not literally of course.
(From increasing metabolism to overcoming physical problems, Prof Luthria speaks about the art of self-healing through simple techniques. For more information on treatments and remedies, kindly visit www.artofselfhealing.in)
