Meditation Calms a Stressful Life

Visualize the lift....Breathe in….Breathe out...Grip the bar…Lift.

It’s a routine that powerlifter Huy Nhan has performed hundreds of times while preparing to deadlift 575 pounds. He incorporated the visualization and deep breathing techniques into his routine three years ago to improve his concentration, with surprising results.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger from it,” said Nhan, 24, a kinesiology strength and conditioning major. “I feel a lot healthier from it and my grades are actually a lot better as well.”

The 5’10″, 250 pound Nhan, who is training for his first power competition, uses diaphragmatic breathing and imagery meditation prior to each lift. He also meditates throughout the day to stay focused and calm.

He is in good company. Long-considered the providence of mantra-chanting monks and mystics, meditation is now being practiced by more Americans than ever before as a path to physical and mental well-being.

According to a survey by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, nearly 13 percent of adults practice deep breathing exercises, more than nine percent meditate and six percent practice yoga. The findings were reported in a 2009 article by the American Medical Association.

Kinesiology major Justin Vidal, 21, began meditating more than a year ago as an alternative to taking pain medications. Herniated discs in his lower spine had left Vidal with sciatica and chronic back and leg pain. Doctors prescribed multiple pain medications but the pain was still so severe that some days he was barely able to crawl to the bathroom.

“At first I was just so angry,” Vidal recalled. “Why me? Why do I have this pain? Why do I have to take all these pills? Why am I stuck in this position?”

That’s when Vidal began searching for an alternative way of life. At the suggestion of a friend, Vidal began to meditate. Initially, all he could do was try to relax in the most comfortable position possible.

Eventually, he started listening to music meditation CDs that used varied bell tones for each chakra – or energy field – in the body. This practice directs the blood flow to specific parts of the body, which then receive more oxygen and other nutrients.

Over time, Vidal learned how to bypass his pain through meditation.Soon he began to notice subtle changes: his digestion improved, he was sleeping better, his mind was calmer. And there was an added benefit: his test-taking skills improved.

“Meditation can definitely bring your stress level down to the point that when you get in (the classroom), you can be relaxed,” Vidal said.

Both Vidal and powerlifter Nhan are students in Cal State Fullerton kinesiology professor Patrick Freeman’s Hatha yoga classes. A yoga-devotee since age 12, Freeman stresses a multi-disciplined approach to yoga and meditation. His classes are part lecture, part activity, and teach proper diet, breathing and positive thinking in addition to yoga postures.

“A lot of people in the west think of yoga as what you do at 24 Hour Fitness or at the rec center,” Freeman said. But to an advanced yogi, that’s “basically kindergarten.”

“It’s still very good; it’s good for the health of our body and, for some people, that’s all they want out of yoga and that’s fine,” Freeman said. “The cool thing about yoga is that you can take from it whatever you want…It’s not a religion; it’s a system of scientific principles designed to still the restless mind.”

Freeman said humans think more than 60,000 thoughts a day – that’s about a thought every 2.4 seconds. Yoga and meditation teach techniques like relaxation and concentration to slow down those thoughts.

"And they’re very simple (techniques),” Freeman said. “But the power lies in the practice. As we practice more and more it gets easier.”

Meditation is not a magic cure-all, he said. But practiced properly and regularly, it can bring relief from myriad of health problems, including digestive problems, sleep disorders and attention-deficit disorder.

And, for stressed-out college students, meditation may be just what the doctor ordered.

“The way the world is moving, we’re inundated with information overload and people are under a lot of stress,” Freeman said. “Meditation can bring them that calmness they’re looking for; that peace of mind.”

Vegetarians give in to humanely raised meat

Lately it’s become downright fashionable to eat meat again.

It started a couple years ago when vegan actress Jennifer Connolly succumbed to her pregnancy cravings for turkey burgers. Next, former-vegan, actress Mariel Hemingway, who starred in Woody Allen’s Manhattan, began touting the virtues of buffalo meatloaf and grass-fed pot roast. Recently, acclaimed vegetarian chef and cookbook author Mollie Katzen admits that she, too, is foraging for more than just roots and berries down on the farm.

What’s prompting this carnivorous conversion among the rich and not-so-famous? For some former vegans and vegetarians, it’s the availability of cruelty-free, fully-sustainable, free-range beef, lovingly raised on small farms by producers concerned more with the animal’s welfare than with their profit line. Many people say this kinder, gentler form of cattle-raising mitigates the factors that caused them to become vegetarian or vegan in the first place.

Crystal Wishart, 34, a sociology major at Cal State University Fullerton converted to vegetarianism three years ago after watching Fast Food Nation, a 2006 film that examines the health risks involved in the fast food industry and its environmental and social consequences.

“I was so grossed out by it I couldn’t fathom eating meat of any kind,” she recalled.

Last year during a trip to New Orleans she “succumbed to all the yummy smells and sights” and began eating meat again. Now she peruses the aisles of Trader Joes and Whole Foods Market for humanely-raised, sustainable beef and chicken without regret, she said, not only because of the way the animal was raised but because the meat is healthier, fresher and tastier than factory-produced meat.

“Do I think that I am unethical or immoral because I eat meat? No. It’s just a personal choice,” Wishart said. “I see how some people can think that [eating humanely-raised meat] is more ethical or moral because the animals are fed better and treated better, but I hate to sound harsh - the ending is just the same for them.”

The term “sustainable” that has crept into foodie lexicon over the past few years refers to products that can be produced indefinitely with little impact on the system in which they were produced. Experts say the current meat industry is not sustainable because it is abusive to the environment, the animals and the humans that process the animals – a system that will cause worse damage and suffering if it continues on its present course.

Heather Stoltzfus, outreach chair for Slow Foods Orange County, a non-profit organization that promotes consumption of sustainable, natural foods, explained there are several reasons to eat sustainable meat.

“You support a producer who is a steward of the environment as well as animal and human life instead of a corporation pursuing the bottom line,” she said. “At the same time you enjoy an animal knowing that it has lived its life as it was meant to be lived.”

Stoltzfus said many vegetarians give up meat in protest of industrial farming conditions that are harmful to the animals, the environment and the people who work with and eat them. Thus, meat raised in a manner where these conditions are not present may be attractive to them.

A vegetarian for 18 years, Stoltzfus has recently considered adding sustainable meat to her diet.

“I try to support the best producers possible,” she says. “So is it better for me to buy and eat a sustainably-raised chicken and help the farmer stay in business or buy GMO tofu from a large corporation that is destroying the land they grow on? In some cases eating meat is a sustainable and even compassionate choice.”

While some former herbivores cite taste and environmental concerns as reasons to eat meat again, others believe a well-balanced diet that includes meat offers nutritional benefits they cannot get from vegetables alone. Indeed, experts say that grass-fed, free-range beef packs a nutritional punch, offering health benefits that factory-produced, corn-fed beef does not.

Archana McEligot, associate professor of Health Sciences at CSUF, explained that grass-fed beef has been shown to have lower saturated fat and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids and a better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

But she adds that vegetarians can get similar benefit by consuming a plant-based, dark-green leafy diet, taking an omega-3 supplement or eating flaxseed oil and walnuts.

Ultimately, for most staunch vegans and vegetarians, there are few arguments that will convince them to return to their meat-eating ways.

Lifestyle Change Fights Holiday Weight Gain

Ah, January.

The eggnog has curdled, the fudge was devoured weeks ago and Aunt Martha’s fruitcake is now doing double duty as a door stop. The holidays are behind us and, for some, the only reminder of the halls we decked is the extra fat that jiggles on our gluteus maximus.

If your clothes fit a bit snugly these days, take heart: experts say the average American gains 10 to 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s Day. Even people with good intentions end up gaining weight, said clinical nutritionist Christine Mohler, adding that having just a single piece of candy or glass of eggnog creates a chemical reaction that lowers self control.

“And then you actually crave more of those foods. It’s an addictive cycle,” she said.

To take off holiday pounds safely, Mohler counsels her clients to drink plenty of water, avoid processed foods, limit caloric intake and step up their exercise routine. She doesn’t believe in diets, saying "weight loss has to be a lifestyle change." And New Year’s resolutions generally fail because people tend to eat emotionally and use food as medication or to feel better, she said.

“So if something goes wrong they grab a chocolate bar. You can only have self discipline so long before you sabotage yourself.”

CSUF Human services major Cassandra Madsen Peterson typically gains three to five pounds during the holidays and this year was no exception. But being a Weight Watchers member forced her to stay on track and kept her accountable.

As for New Year’s resolutions, she doesn’t believe they are any more effective than making resolutions at other times of the year.

“I believe a slower, steadier pace is most successful,” Peterson said. “I take it a day at a time, utilize my groups, track my food intake daily, and ‘get back on the horse’ if I have a bad day.”

Most experts agree that successful weight loss combines diet and exercise. But knowing what type of exercise is most effective makes a big difference when it comes to losing body fat, said Alain Bourgault, group exercise coordinator at the CSUF Student Fitness Center.

“People think ‘I’m going to get on the treadmill and burn a lot of fat.’ It does, but at a lower rate,” he said.

Most of the weight loss that comes from doing cardio is water, Bourgault explained. Instead, people should focus on resistance training, which builds strength and increases metabolism. He recommends 30 to 45 minutes on cardio and then an hour on machines that target specific body parts, like chest presses, leg lifts, leg curls, shoulder raises and arm curls.

Bourgault said the best way to get back in shape is to take a drop-in fitness class or get a session with a personal trainer, who will get you motivated and help you set goals. A realistic and healthy weight loss goal is one pound per week, he said. Any more than that is just water.

Bourgault and nutritionist Mohler agree on the most important advice: Don’t focus on the scale.

“Muscle weighs more than fat,” Bourgault said. “The scale may not change but you can look at your body and see that you’re looking better and feeling better too.”

Here are some weight-loss strategies for the New Year:

• Drink water. Start your day with an eight ounce glass of water and then drink four to six ounces every hour; that’s what it takes for liver and kidneys to function properly.

• Eat on time. Your body requires nutrients within 30 minutes of being awake. Don't go to the gym on an empty stomach - this forces your brain to break down muscle to feed itself to get through the exercise. Then it stores everything as fat because your body thinks it's starving. Eat a snack every three hours to keep your blood sugar even.

• Eat right. You should consume a little bit of protein all day long. Choose shakes, chicken breast, hummus, a handful of almonds. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables (except carrots-they contain a lot of sugar). Fruit is good, but limit bananas, which also have a high sugar content. Better choices are apples, pears, oranges, berries and other lower glycemic index fruit.

• Avoid processed foods – anything with a lot of flour, sugar or salt. Eat as fresh and natural as possible. Think quick food, not fast food. An apple or and a handful of almonds are great.

• Kick up your exercise routine. (Make sure to drink water!) If you need a jump start, try a new form of exercise. If you’re always doing yoga try kick boxing. If you’re always doing cardio try weights. And take the time to stretch so you won’t hurt anything.

• Take a multi-vitamin and a fish oil (essential fatty acid). It’s important while you’re cutting back on calories.

• Avoid alcohol - it forces your body to create and store more fat.

• Don’t starve yourself. For most women 1100-1300 calories will safely get fat off. For men it’s 1600-2000 a day. Those are safe zones to stay within.