Did you know that despite the challenges of researching the health benefits of yoga, many good-quality studies are beginning to emerge, and the results are interesting.

L. Lipton a yoga instructor for more than fifteen years, describes some studies and what they mean.

Back Pain

Can a regular yoga practice help prevent or treat back pain? A randomized controlled trial involving 101 patients with chronic low-back pain compared 12 weeks of viniyoga practice with conventional back exercise classes. Both of these groups were compared with patients who were given a self-help book. An instructor taught a weekly 75-minute viniyoga practice for the yoga treatment group, who also received handouts and an audio CD guide for home practice. At the end of the 12 weeks, the viniyoga group showed more improvement in back function than both the traditional exercise group and the group who received the self-help book (Sherman et al. 2005).

The Take-Home Message. A regular practice of specific viniyoga poses has been shown to improve some symptoms of back pain. If you have been diagnosed with routine back strain, practice yoga gently and don’t attempt poses that require extreme twisting or vigorous spinal extension, as these can put a lot of strain on the spinal disks and nerve roots. Severe or constant back pain should be evaluated by your physician.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Is yoga an effective therapy for this common problem? Researchers have concluded that yoga provides a “significant short-term benefit” for people with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Regular use of specific yoga poses with a focus on the upper body has been shown to improve symptoms of CTS.

Osteoarthritis and Yoga

In one study, eleven people who had been diagnosed with OA in the knee experienced some relief from symptoms once they started a yoga program. After 8 weekly sessions of a modified yoga class, all had reduced symptoms.

Simple weight loss diet programs are always best, though they seem to have been forgotten these days. It seems like each day we hear of a new gimmick or a new way of losing weight endorsed by a popular celebrity. Thing is, a lot of this is just plain hype. When you are searching for a weight loss program that will integrate comfortable into your daily routine and that you know will work, you really should not go past a simple weight loss diet.

To understand why a simple weight loss diet is the best approach to losing weight and keeping it off, it is first important that you understand clearly just why we put weight on in the first place. Our bodys are programmed to a strict formula.WE use energy to do work and to stay alive. Our source of energy is food. We need to eat enough food to meet our energy needs and keep ourselves healthy, but when we eat even the slightest amount more than that our bodies store it away. I should clarify that.They store it away as FAT!

A simple weight loss diet understands the energy process. Such simple diet plans actually make use of this chemical energy process and use it to manipulate weight loss. Using a dual approach that allows enough food to help the body function correctly whilst increasing activity levels regularly over a period of time, simple weigh loss diets manipulate the energy equation so that we use more energy than we make forcing our bodies to call on our fat “reserves”. The result is fat is used for energy and we lose weight!

So what are the components of a healthy but simple weight loss plan? Firstly we should discuss what they are not:

1. They do not promote weight loss through the use of weight loss pills

2. They do not advocate purchasing expensive pre-packaged meals that only benefit the weight loss company

3. Gym equipment that is often expensive to purchase and often difficult to use, is not promoted as essential for weight loss.

4. Hollywood celebrities or special gimmicks are not used to promote the program

Here is what a simple weight loss diet will do:

* Ensure that your daily food plan is based on a well balanced calorie count

* Put the decision of when and what you eat in your hands, according to the plan guidlines

* Give you correct information so that you can make informed decisions by yourself about what to eat

* Encourage you to increase daily activity so that you burn more calories than you supply your body through food each day.

* Help you with support and motivation while you are losing weight

* Are affordable and not over priced

* Give you the confidence to take control of your weight loss plan and allow you to do this from home, in privacy.

Despite what the papers may say, there really is no easy fix for overweight. In truth, the only safe and proven way to lose healthy weight is a simple weight loss diet plan based on scientific facts. There are many gimmicks out there, don’t allow them to fool you and take your money as well! A safe and simple weight loss diet is best every time.

As an industry with an approximate annual turnover of 65 billion dollars last year, marketing companies will work hard to entice you into buying the current “sure thing” for fast weight loss. The safest course of action you could take however would be to ignore the advertising and trust your health to a simple weight loss diet plan. You will gain two benefits that way:- a better bank balance and security in the knowledge that you are looking after your health.

Heart disease symptoms differ among men and women. Men often have the “classic” symptoms we are all aware of, while women experience a much different and less noticeable set of symptoms.

Classic heart disease symptoms that have often been defined for both men and women include shortness of breath, sweating, and chest pain or pressure. Also, pain that radiates from the shoulders, to the neck, and to the arms, tightness in your chest, and heartburn or indigestion are also classic signs. Dizziness and short losses of consciousness can happen as well.

However, heart disease symptoms women experience can be very different, and much more sly. Not only do many women never realize they are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, but many end up having heart attacks without seemingly any warning at all.

Unexplained fatigue and weakness are often contributing factors to heart disease. Symptoms women experience can also include discomfort and pain between the shoulder blades that is often thought to be sore muscles or tension. Women also have reported gas, indigestion, dizziness, and nausea and vomiting as symptoms they were having prior to a heart attack, which they would sometimes associate with anxiety.

Women can have these unusual symptoms for weeks, months, and sometimes years before the heart attack actually takes place. The National Institute of Health did a study and demonstrated that the majority of women realize that something isn’t right before they have a heart attack. They are experiencing unusual symptoms such as fatigue, sleep upset, and shortness of breath, but they do not realize that these can be symptoms of heart disease. What’s more, less than a third of all women ever experience chest pain, which has been long associated as a primary symptom of a heart attack.

Heart disease symptoms women tend to have can be mild and virtually unnoticeable, and for that very reason can be extremely deadly. If a woman does notice unusual symptoms, she may disregard it as common stress factors.

Being proactive when speaking to your doctor could be just the thing that saves your life. It is important to make sure you get your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked regularly each year, and request more tests that screen for heart disease if the risk runs in your family. Make sure you let your doctor know of any uncommon or unusual symptoms you may be experiencing.

Your lifestyle is also important in reducing your risk for heart disease. In addition to talking to your doctor, you need to take an honest look at your lifestyle and make sure you are eating right, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and cutting out the sabotaging effects of smoking, drinking, and saturated fats. Make some healthy changes now and continue to educate yourself about heart disease. Being able to identify symptoms of heart disease that women have may just be the thing that saves you or a loved one’s life.