Yoga With Jake Podcast

My guest on the podcast is Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo, dean of research and education at the Exercise Medicine Clinic, CLINIMEX, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Here, he unpacks a recent study which he is the principal investigator on, that shows having better balance is linked with a longer lifespan.  Specifically, that an inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in later life nearly doubles the risk of death from any cause within the next decade.

The findings were published in June by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The researchers found that the proportion of deaths was nearly four times higher among those who couldn’t complete the balance test as compared to those who could.

During the study, researchers observed participants and their ability to complete a balance test for seven years. One in five participants failed to balance on one leg for 10 seconds at their initial screening. Over 50% of the patients between the ages of 71 and 75 were unable to complete the test compared to 5% from ages 51 to 55.

This association between being unable to balance and higher risk of death is consistent when other factors are considered, such as sex, age, BMI or health conditions including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and coronary artery disease.

While the study did not examine cause and effect, it did expose a correlation between balance and lifespan.

Dr Arújo says, quote:  “People should test their balance like they check their blood pressure. In many situations in your daily life, you have to stand on one leg. To get into the car, to get up and down stairs. You’re balancing on one foot and then the other.”

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Congressman Ritchie Torres speaks out about his personal struggle with depression and how he has become an advocate for mental health.

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Panic attacks, depression and crippling anxiety led Chari Hawkins to develop mental resilience training. Here are her tips.

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Certain types of yoga can produce a natural "high" that can help those recovering from addiction. For Troy Jackson, yoga proved to be such a powerful recovery tool that he’s now a yoga teacher.

Jackson went on to receive a master’s in social service and became a licensed social worker. He currently works as a licensed psychotherapist and a yoga teacher. He prays often, and he is grateful for the small gifts in his everyday life, something he missed while in the throes of addiction.

“I wanted to die every day,” Jackson says. “I was too afraid to kill myself, so I was just trying to do it slowly. When I was using, I hated myself. I hated others around me. It was a miserable existence. Now, one of the first highs I get every morning is the fact that I’m alive. Life’s good. That’s a high in itself.”

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Dr. Anna Lembke,  professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic.  She’s also featured in the hit Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma  and her new book "Dopamine Nation" is a New York Times Best Seller. 

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Dr. Erica Sharpe is a clinical human researcher at the National University of Natural Medicine, a professor of chemistry at SUNY Canton who specializes in yoga nidra  (yogic sleep) and natural medicine. In this podcast she discusses the traditional aspects of yoga nidra as well as the science based benefits of it. 

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Dr. Robert Sallis is a family and sports medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana California. He’s the director of sports medicine fellowship at Kaiser Permanente, a clinical professor of family medicine at UC Riverside School of Medicine and chief medical officer for the Los Angeles Football Club.

Dr. Sallis was the principal investigator of a study published in the April edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine that observed nearly 50,000 adults with COVID-19. Researchers found those who met the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity showed significantly lower risks of hospitalization, ICU admission and death due to COVID-19.

He shares the significance of his findings, He provides some theories as to why exercise helps lessen the severity of covid symptoms, and how someone who’s been diagnosed with covid should start back into an exercise routine safely. He also discusses the problem with the messaging around how to handle the pandemic. And how we can be more prepared for the next pandemic.

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Team Physician, Seattle Seahawks and UW Huskies, Editor-in-Chief at the British Journal of Sports Medicine , Professor at University of Washington and Director, at UW Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology discusses his recent research on COVID-19 and college athletes. He also speaks on safely returning to exercise post COVID-19 infection and the affects exercise can have in lessening the severity of COVID outcomes. 

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Vaibhav Diwadkar, professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine discusses the effects of cold exposure. 

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 Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of pharmacy, discusses the profound benefits of sauna use and heat therapy. Along with other methods to help bolster health throughout our lives. 

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