Tag: inspiration

Feel Better with Five-Minute Yoga

Be more energized with just a few minutes a day of yoga.

Since beginning this blog, we have presented a number of posts on the value of exercise. As well as the implications of feeling tired. To complement these discussions, we now look at yoga. In particular, how to feel better with five-minute yoga.

How to Feel Better with Five-Minute Yoga

What Is Yoga?

For those not fully aware of yoga, we turn to Asia Trend for insights:

Yoga exercises improve circulation, stimulate the abdominal organs, and put pressure on the glandular system of the body, which can generally result to better health. The five principles of yoga are the basis of attaining a healthy body and mind through the practice of yoga.

        1. Proper Relaxation
        2. Appropriate Exercise
        3. Proper Breathing
        4. Suitable Diet
        5. Positive Thinking and Meditation

Also, consider this infographic.

Feel Better with Yoga

Five-Minute Yoga

Could you really do an effective yoga routine in five minutes? According to Stephanie Mansour,  writing for CNN health, the answer is yes:

The countless hours that many of us have sat at a makeshift desk in quarantine can be detrimental — physically and mentally. Hunched over a computer day in and day out, you’re not just wreaking havoc on your posture, but you’re likely feeling out of sorts and drained, too.

If you wake up feeling stressed or overwhelmed with the thought of beginning another day in isolation, a daily yoga practice can be helpful. Practicing brief sessions of yoga and mindfulness can significantly improve energy levels and brain function.

 

Along with the physical practice of yoga, the breathwork,  has a significant positive impact on energy levels and cognitive function. Research has shown that slow, steady breathing linked with movement helps reduce stress and improve autonomic and higher neural center functioning.

 
To learn Mansour’s 5-minute yoga routine (with photos showing her suggested poses), click the image.

Feel Better with Five-Minute Yoga
Stephanie Mansour kicks off her morning with an energizing yoga routine in bed. Here she demonstrates the seated twist.

 

Next-Generation Nurses

Why nurses are great!!

Earlier this year, we reported some of the results of  the state of the U.S. healthcare system by  Wolters Kluwer.  But what about the state of U.S. nursing? That’s today’s discussion.

Wolters Kluwer on Next-Generation Nurses

Although the survey was done pre-COVID-19,  this report from Wolters Kluwer references the impact of COVID-19.  Let’s present a few highlights:

Social distancing. Panic buying. Flattening the curve. Those are some of the expressions we started using at the beginning of 2020.

And even though the lives of nurses across the world have changed dramatically — perhaps permanently — since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the words we use to describe nurses are still the same: Resilient. Selfless. Powerful.

Nurses are the true heroes who serve on the front lines of patient care. They bring not only care but also hope to patients in need. Even at times of great personal risk and under sometimes suboptimal conditions, the world’s nurses unite in a common mission to defeat an invisible enemy. And they have been at patients’ bedsides despite the lack of hospital equipment, the under preparedness, and in many cases, the necessary protective gear.

The survey results yield insights based on the views of a group of next- generation nurses (in practice less than 10 years) who are tuned in to today’s rapidly changing healthcare system. The responses reveal those nurses’ confidence and social savvy—qualities that are certainly helping them navigate the perils of the pandemic and that are also making them the best poised to navigate changing care models.

The survey results also show that these nurses are making their mark.  They’re bringing a new perspective on such topics as societal needs, the patient’s role in care, technology, the opioid crisis, and continuing education for nurses.

It’s become a very different world, but we hope we can learn from the generational characteristics of this committed group of nurses, who are among the best positioned to sustain the profession while becoming key architects of what the future healthcare system might look like.

Click the image to see the full report. A free signup is required.