February 8, 2008, Newsletter Issue #140: Flexibility Exercises

Tip of the Week

Flexibility exercises are designed to:

* keep joints flexible
* improve your balance
* reduce your risk for injury during
other activities
* improve your range of motion

Examples of some types of flexibility exercises include:

* Yoga
* Pilates - combines flexibility and
strength-training exercises
* Tai Chi
* Stretching
* Thai Massage

1) Yoga combines slow controlled movements
that stretch your limbs, with core
breathing. Persons who do Yoga find
they have improved balance and
coordination, are more flexible, feel
stronger and also better muscle tone.
2) Pilates also combines stretching
movements, with strengthening exercises,
but are generally more intense than Yoga
and involve active repetitive movements
to achieve toned muscles, greater
balance and strength.
3) Tai Chi is a series of slow, controlled
movements, called "forms," performed
while standing up, following an ancient
Chinese discipline. It enhances
strength, balance and flexibility, while
promoting calm and a sense of well-being.
4) Stretching is the simple systematic
lengthening of your muscles by reaching
or pulling, to extend the muscle to its
greatest length. This is achieved while
the muscle is relaxed, and decreases
risk for muscle spasms, muscle injury
and joint pain.
5) Thai Massage, also called Passive Yoga,
involves the Massage Practitioner moving
your body and limbs through traditional
Yoga positions to provide the benefits
of Yoga, including flexibility,
strengthening and improved breathing and
balance.

Flexibility exercises also have many of the other benefits associated with exercise including:

* relaxation
* improved blood flow/circulation
* more restful sleep
* feelings of well-being
* moderation of appetite (important in
weight loss)
* decrease in feelings of depression
* improved sexual function

As with any exercise program, talk with your doctor before you begin, and set reasonable goals for your progress. Exercising with a friend can make it more fun, or join a gym or fitness club. If you are shy about exercising around others, there is a vast array of videos that you can exercise along with, right in your own home.

The important thing is to exercise. For the diabetic, exercise will help you to lose excess weight, stabilize your metabolism, and control your blood sugars.

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