PCOS vs Exercises

Have you been piling on weights, yet haven’t changed your diet? 

Are your periods irregular or absent altogether? 

Is your skin breaking out like crazy? 

These are just a few signs that you may be suffering from Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome, a hormonal condition that affects up to 18% of women. 

Diet and exercise can be extremely helpful in treating the symptoms so you can lead a healthy, happy and fertile life.

 PCOS eFFECTS on YOUR BODY

• Irregular or absent periods

• Excess testosterone – we all produce some testosterone, but too much can prevent ovulation and change your menstrual cycle

• Insulin resistance – your body has to produce much more insulin than normal to keep blood sugar levels stable. 
• Excess insulin floating around also increases testosterone produce.

• Reduced fertility

• Excess hair on your body and face (hirsutism)

• Less hair on your head (alopecia)

• Changes in your skin, such as acne, or darkened skin patches

• Anxiety & Depression

Symptoms of PCOS

These symptoms can be improved with a few lifestyle changes, particularly with exercise routine.

1. CARDIO

Brisk walking, jogging, cycling or swimming are all great activities. CARDIO help with weight management, symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as improving frequency of menstrual cycles and ovulation. And if you’re about to start IVF, regular light exercise can boost your reproductive success.

"Reducing insulin resistance, Boosting fertility, Stabilizing mood"

2. STRENGTH TRAINING

Exercises like squats, push-ups, or triceps dips improve the function of insulin in your body, but can also boost your metabolism by building more muscle mass. 

"Reducing insulin resistance, increasing metabolic rate, improving body composition (more muscle and less fat tissue)"

3. HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

Intervals involve swapping between short bouts of high intensity work and lower intensity recovery. It’s a time efficient way of boosting your cardiovascular fitness, with extra benefits for PCOS. Going hard on the spin bike burns bucket-loads of calories, and reduces abdominal fat more effectively reducing excess testosterone and improving insulin resistance.

" Increases cardiovascular fitness, decreases waist circumference, and achieves a healthy BMI"

4. CORE STRENGTH

if you’re trying to conceive, start training your pelvic floor muscles! These muscles are also part of your core and help prevent incontinence, boost sexual health, and improve pelvic stability to help support a healthy pregnancy.

"General well-being and injury prevention, preparing your body for pregnancy"

P.S. All the above fitness regimes helped me personally to overcome the PCOS symptoms & helped me in my fertility treatment.

If your fitness regime can get over the side effects of PCOS, why do you hesitate to exercise while going for a fertility treatment?

Exercise and the Depression

Regular exercise is important for good physical and mental health. Exercise promotes the release of feel-good brain chemicals. It may also help distract you from your worries and improve your confidence.

Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of apathy and sadness. Life experiences can cause depression, but usually the dominant problem is chemistry happening in the brain.

Endorphins and other neurotransmitters

Endorphins are a type of neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger. They help relieve pain and stress.

Endorphins are only one of many neurotransmitters released when you exercise. Physical activity also stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These brain chemicals play an important part in regulating your mood.

Regular exercise can positively impact serotonin levels in your brain. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall sense of well-being. It can also help improve your appetite and sleep cycles, which are often negatively affected by depression.

Aerobic workouts are most associated with positive results in treating depression. Aerobic exercise elevates your heart rate, which improves circulation in your brain. This helps promote healthy brain function and balanced brain chemistry. 

Neurotransmitters secreted in brain while exercising

• Norepinephrine improves attention, perception and motivation.
• Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protects and repairs neurons degeneration.
• Hormone combine with BDNF to grow brain cells, regulate mood and provide mental clarity.
• The hippocampus, a part of the brain concerned with learning and memory, grows in size with regular exercise over time.
• Endorphins are released, during the sensation of pain.
• Serotonin enhances the over all  mood enhancement.
• Dopamine is released improving motivation, focus and learning.
  
  

Exercise vs Rest vs Mood

Exercise vs Endorphin secretion

Exercise can have other mental health benefits too. For example, focusing on your body’s movements during exercise may help distract you from upsetting thoughts. Setting and meeting exercise-related goals may also boost your confidence and sense of control.

Why do we have to hesitate to exercise when you can be healthy physically & emotionally? 

YOGA POSES FOR BEGINNERS

                          I am a certified yoga trainer. I am only sharing what yoga does for me, and why I think it can do the same for you! That being said, let’s get to the background of why I picked these easy yoga poses for you to try.

                        I was an athlete through out my childhood, a double black belt in Budokan international & a state level basketball player. The pregnancy took a toll on my health & i was almost bed-ridden after delivery. The lack of awareness of do's & don't(s) during treatment and  pregnancy devastated my body and well-being.

                          This is when I got to the point where I realized I had to find time every day to slow down and stretch, for the sake of my well-being. I could take my time right in the middle of my own living room.

BENEFITS OF YOGA

• Yoga is judgement free. 
• Yoga can be as gentle or as intense a workout as you are looking for or you need. All these poses can be held or repeated as long or as much as you desire. There are no rules. Its about what your body needs, at that moment. If you need a workout, then go on repeat! If you need just a good stretch, stop when you feel release.
• Yoga is an amazing way to keep your core strong and your body feeling young.
• Yoga can do wonders for low back pain, or neck pain.
• Yoga has amazing stress relieving ability, especially at home.

SIMPLE YOGA POSES:

 CHILD’S POSE

 This easy yoga pose is great for warming up flexibility, and perfect to start and end a yoga session.

 BRIDGE POSE

It is a great basic exercise, especially for back pain sufferers.

  CAT / COW POSE

These poses are great for back mobility. 

 COBRA POSE

The cobra pose stretches the abs and spine. 

DOWNWARD DOG POSE

This pose stretches nearly every part of your body and builds strength in your core and arms.

THESE FIVE SIMPLE POSES CAN HELP YOU STRETCH A BIT & REPEATING THE ROUTINES IN PROPER SETS WILL HELP FOR BURNING YOUR CALORIES.

Yoga and Covid -19

COVID -19

                          Even without a global pandemic, we experience these moments of panic and uncertainty in our lives: we feel it when we fall in love, have our hearts broken, fail exams, have a sick pet, move change jobs, lose a loved one, have a baby, (to name a few). It’s no wonder that these strange times have led us into a tailspin – especially when so many of us are contract workers wondering how we will make ends meet.

                         Friend, in times like these, I take courage from a famous quote,  “Chaos should be regarded as very good news.” When everything falls apart, it tells us to lean in: “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation, can that which is indestructible in us be found.”

                         We don’t like to be uncomfortable. We resist uncertainty. And when the world shifts, our attachment to stability and consistency is exposed.

                         This is the perfect time to cultivate our inner resilience. To recognize the wholeness of the space within us.

Without ignoring practicalities, we can ask ourselves,

“Is my mind making this worse?”
“What is real, in this moment?”
“How can I be of service?”

                            In these times – when we can so clearly see our mind’s ability to spin out and create stories – we have the perfect opportunity to recognize our inner resources. One breath at a time, we can lean into this moment – where we feel so incredibly vulnerable – and breathe rather than react. Give, rather than hoard. Soften, rather than harden. Connect, rather than collapse.

                           
And while we can’t control the world, we can control how we watch and believe our minds. This is our living yoga practice: staying present so that we can open our hearts to be loving, aware, and available to this very moment. And to each other.

This is the path of a spiritual warrior.

And I’m honored to meet you here.

7 Reasons to Exercise

7 Reasons to Exercise

1. Exercise benefits every part of the body, including the mind.
2. Exercising causes the body to make chemicals that can help a person feel good. 
3. Exercise can help people sleep better. 
4. Exercise can also help some people who have mild depression and low self-esteem.  
5. Exercise can give people a real sense of accomplishment and pride at having achieved a goal 
6. Exercising regularly lowers a person's risk of developing some diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. 
7. Exercise can help a person age well. 

The three forms of a balanced exercise routine are: aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility training.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is any type of exercise that gets the heart pumping and gets you breathing harder. When you give your heart and lungs this kind of workout regularly, they get stronger and are better at getting oxygen (in the form of oxygen-carrying blood cells) to all parts of your body.


There are plenty of ways to get aerobic exercise. These include biking, running, hiking, and walking quickly.

Strength Training

The heart isn't the only muscle to benefit from regular exercise. The other muscles in your body enjoy exercise too. When you use your muscles, they become stronger.


Strong muscles are also a plus because they support your joints and help prevent injuries. Muscle also use more energy than fat does, so building your muscles will help you burn more calories and maintain a healthy weight.

You don't have to lift weights to make your muscles and bones stronger. Different types of exercise strengthen different muscle groups, for example:

• For arms, try rowing or cross-country skiing. Pull-ups and push-ups  are also good for building arm muscles.
• For strong legs, try running, biking, rowing, or skating. Squats and leg raises also work the legs.
• For abdominal and core strength, you can't beat rowing, yoga or pilates, planks and crunches.

Flexibility Training

Strengthening the heart and other muscles isn't the only important goal of exercise. Exercise can also help the body stay flexible, meaning that your muscles and joints stretch and bend easily.

Being flexible may also help improve a person's sports performance. Some activities, like dance or martial arts, require great flexibility. But increased flexibility also can help people perform better at other sports, such as soccer or lacrosse.

Sports and activities that encourage flexibility are easy to find. Martial arts like karate, ballet, gymnastics, and yoga are good choices. Stretching after your workout will also help you improve your flexibility.

Why a fitness center & a trainer?

One of the biggest reasons people drop an exercise program is lack of interest: If what you're doing isn't fun, it's hard to keep it up. A fitness center near you will always come up with new techniques to keep yourself fit & active. 

A good trainer will make you achieve your goal and create a customized  routine by considering different attributes.

Go & enroll in a fitness center near you and age in a better way