Rami's Blog

Like the Yin-Yang, Eastern Martial Arts and Western medicine are two halves of a whole. My mission is to preserve the ancient mind-body tools and pass them on to you.

 

Starting Good Health Habits when You are Young

In lots of previous blogs, I have talked about health as an investment. As it turns out, learning to manage your health is a lot like learning to manage your finances. If you start young, you can afford to make mistakes. 

You bought concert tickets without having enough money in your checking account? Well, mom and dad will cover you, just this once! You ate a whole pizza for dinner, and haven't exercised for a week? Well, your high metabolism will cover you, for now!

But eventually, these backup resources run out, and mistakes, or just plain bad luck, can become a serious problem. So whether it is personal finance, or personal health, the younger you start investing in yourself and your future, the better off you'll be.

Just like a savings account, it is better to add a little bit, very regularly, than big lump sums only once in a while. It's about creating a habit that you will stick to, and eventually not even need to think about.

So how do you develop good health habits now, when you're young? (P.S. If you're not young, sorry for getting to you so late! But tell your kids or grandkids!)

It's all about discipline. Health culture in America is going through a "fad" phase, where the newest foods, exercises, or training plans are used today and forgotten tomorrow, because we're all looking for the smallest time commitment.

Well, savings accounts don't fill themselves.

Practices like Tai Chi, meditation, stretching, and medium physical activity, when done on a daily basis, are the best things a young person can do to ensure their health in the future. Find something you enjoy, and stick to it. Don't set health goals for yourself when you are young, because that means you are already looking to reach a point where you are done! Instead, just commit yourself to enjoying the activities themselves. It may take some searching, but there is something out there for everyone.

You never appreciate having money in the bank more than when you don't have any, and you'll never appreciate good health more than when your health starts to fail. So start developing those good habits now!

You are Most Productive When You Sleep

In today's busy world, sleep is one of the first things we take for granted and cut out of our schedules. If it were possible to simply switch back and forth between getting no sleep when you are busy, and getting lots of sleep when you aren't, sleep deprivation wouldn't be a serious problem.

But it is a serious problem, because the hormones, body states, and brain cycles that regulate our sleep are easy to break, and hard to fix. On top of that fact, medical scientists keep finding ways in which sleep is vital to the functions of all our bodily systems, including mood, anxiety levels, muscle recovery, injury healing, digestion, and more. A healthy body and mind are largely dependent on a healthy sleep schedule. And by healthy, I mean sleeping until you are not sleepy anymore. (For those scientifically minded among you, here is a review of a lot of the literature on the matter.)

Luckily, Eastern style Mind-Body healthcare is here to help. Meditative practice has been shown not only to reduce anxiety, symptoms of depression, stress levels, and more, but also to act as a kind of "reset" switch for your sleep cycles.

It may not seem like it, but every time you get a full-night's sleep, you are investing in your health, and in your future productivity. It doesn't matter is you are a college student cramming for an exam, or an elderly person just looking for the energy to go on your morning walk. If you start to shorten your sleep schedule to accomplish other tasks, you are actually making it harder to accomplish those same tasks in the future.

So start sleeping! You shouldn't need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. Your body knows when it has gotten enough sleep. And if you can't sleep, or can't stop sleeping due to a chronic condition like depression, start meditating! It can be difficult at first, but the more you do it, the better you will sleep, and the better you sleep, the better you will be at meditating.

Now that is what I call a higher quality of life!

"Music Heals the Soul" Fundraiser

On May 19th (a Monday), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be holding a fundraising night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library in Boston. The proceeds will go to the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies at Dana-Farber, which Rami has worked with for a number of years now. Please consider coming out and supporting this incredible organization and its good works!

In addition to the fundraiser, Rami's good friend, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, will be recognized with an award for his long-standing support of the Zakim Center. Congratulations, Larry! WCVB-TV/Channel 5 Boston reporter Kelly Tuthill will be there to emcee.

According to the Press Release Dana-Farber in sending out, the event starts at 6pm, and "will also include a seated dinner, live music, a silent auction, and complementary therapies from the Zakim Center, which offers integrative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, qigong, and creative arts. Tickets are $200. For more information, call 617-203-2064."

If you plan on purchasing a ticket, PLEASE be sure to double check the time and date by calling that number.

We wish the Zakim Center many more years of great work!

Addendum: Here is the video that was shown at the fundraiser in honor of Larry Lucchino and Leonard P. Zakim, enjoy!