TOI, Patna 24.12.2008

Music helps lower cholesterol

‘Madonna’s Songs Boost Endurance, Symphonies Improve Mental Focus’

Los Angeles: Take a tune and come back to see me in the morning. Doctors have found that prescribing music can improve heart health and lower cholesterol levels.
Their research found that if a patient listens to 30 minutes a day of their favourite music, it can go far beyond simply relaxing them mentally – it benefits them physically by expanding and clearing blood vessels.
Doctors have tried the method on some patients in America and it has been welcomed by British experts. It is believed to work by triggering the release into the bloodstream of nitric oxide, which helps prevent the build-up of blood clots and harmful cholesterol.
The findings are part of a growing body of research into the effects of music on the human body. Scientists have found that songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna can improve endurance, while 18th century symphonies can improve mental focus.
When it comes to the effect on the bloodstream, however, the key is not the type of music but what the listener prefers. The same is true of volume and tempo.
"The music effect only lasts in the bloodstream for a few seconds but the accumulative benefit of favourite tunes lasts and can be very positive in people of all ages," said Michael Miller, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at Maryland University, who carried out the research. H added: "We were looking for cheaper, non-pharmacological aids to help us improve our patients’ heart health, and we think this is the prescription."
The Maryland study, based on healthy non-smoking men and women with an average age of 36, found the diameter of blood vessels in the upper arm expanded by 26% in volunteers listening to music they found enjoyable.
Miller said blood vessel expansion indicated that nitric oxide is being released throughout the body, reducing clots and LDL, a form of cholesterol linked to heart attacks. He also warned that listening to stressful music can shrink blood vessels by 6% - the same effect, according to previous studies, as eating a large hamburger.
His findings follow a study by Brunel University, west London, confirmed that music can improve mood and boost athletic performance.
In experiments on 30 volunteers, the researcher, Costas Karageorghis, found that tracks from Madonna and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as Queen and the R&B singer Rihanna, increased endurance on a treadmill by up to 15% and most participants did not realize they were working harder.
Music may "pump" the brain and the body. At Stanford University, near San Francisco, researchers found that listening to 18th century symphonies improved listeners’ focus between movements, when they mentally updated shopping lists.

Relaxed & Competitive With T'ai Chi

TOI, Patna 8/8/2008

Relaxed & Competitive With T’ai Chi

Sensei Sandeep Desali

The words ‘maintain’, ‘enhance’ and ‘heal’ have been the cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine for achieving health and longevity. Good health can make all the difference between feeling truly alive and spontaneous, and just pulling along. The earlier you take care of your body and mind, the longer they will serve you with little or no trouble.
The second stage of traditional Chinese medicine is aimed at enhancing all your faculties and maintaining all your faculties and maintaining them at their peak, so you can make the maximum use of your talent and lead a full, successful life. To this end, the use of T’ai Chi, Chi Gung, nutrition, and self-massage, as well as herbs and acupuncture is emphasised.
The third stage is healing. If you have nurtured the two previous stages, healing may not be required. However, if you want to use your full potential on all fronts – you will have to go beyond the first two stages and heal yourself from specific health problems.
One of the key principles of T’ai Chi to make the whole body, chi, and mind move like one unified mass, with no parts moving in isolation. This is absolutely crucial for high performance sports and dance.
Emphasis on precise body alignments prevents the flow of chi from being blocked or dissipated. T’ai Chi endows athletes with more perseverance and focus. Proficiency in any martial art demands hard work, discipline and application. Even practicing a short form of Tai Chi can infuse regular rhythms in an athlete’s body and mind, which supplements other rhythms needed in order to develop and maintain athletic skills both during and between competition seasons.
In addition to preventing joint, muscle and spinal injuries, T’ai Chi hastens the normal healing time and extends an athlete’s peak performance years. T’ai Chi’s gentle motions greatly enhance the flow of blood to injured areas and help rejuvenate damaged soft tissues.
By stimulating the central nervous system and increasing your reservoir of chi, T’ai Chi promotes speed, reflexes, power and endurance. T’ai Chi improves hand-eye coordination. Practising T’ai Chi also promotes the feeling of "time slowing down or seeming to stop", which can be instrumental in bringing out better athletic performance. It improves peripheral vision, enabling athletes to become more acutely aware of their surroundings.
T’ai Chi provides ease, adroitness, and springiness to the legs. By rooting energy to the ground and increasing the awareness of the lower body, T’ai Chi gives heavy weightlifters tremendous stability, balance and maneuverability. T’ai Chi reduces internal resistance and hesitation, stumbling blocks which make it difficult for you to change tactics and strategies at will. With this comes the ability to remain relaxed yet alert under all circumstances and instantly release explosive power.
The writer has authored ‘The Small Book of T’ai Chi’. Contact: 26716630, 9887044284. E-mail: taichi-india@hotmail.com