Essentrics with JJ

01/07/2025

09/03/2024

Lake Como

07/30/2024

Last summer 2024 Park Essentrics class. See you in September

07/08/2024

Come join us tomorrow. Bring your mat and
water

06/17/2024

Come join us NEXT TUESDAY.

11/08/2023

Researchers suggests that adults ages 60 and older who engage in prolonged sedentary behaviors, such as sitting for extended periods while watching TV or driving, may face an increased risk of developing dementia.

10/16/2023

On a recent episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I was excited to talk to Dr. Mark Pimentel about getting to the root cause of IBS and SIBO, how to properly diagnose and treat it, and strategies to improve your overall gut health.

Diet is a critical aspect of IBS and SIBO management. We discuss the low-fermentation eating plan that Dr. Pimentel developed and why it could be a better option than a low-FODMAP or elemental diet, which are commonly used for IBS and SIBO.

We also discuss strategies to decrease the chances of IBS and bacterial overgrowth recurrence, whether probiotics are helpful or harmful, and simple testing options for both IBS and SIBO.

You can find the full episode here: https://bit.ly/3rvuPDv

10/08/2023

Brilliant

Some people I know love lifting external weights such as dumbbells because they love the feel: they can feel their muscles being challenged. For them, imagining lifting a weight doesn't confer the same tangible sense of muscle engagement.

I am not completely against lifting external weights. If it comes down to either pumping iron or doing nothing, then I'd rather he/she grab a dumbbell. While Essentrics co-creator Miranda Esmonde-White cautions about the compressive impact of eternal weights on joints, I would add the neural perspective.

When we lift external weights, we benefit from the tangible feeling of the weights. However, when we imagine a weight, we engage our brain instead of relying on an external stimulus. This keeps our brain young, and reinforces the feedback loop between it and our muscles. We go from passively feeling and responding to a stimulus to actively creating, feeling and then responding. This requires more concentration which can calm the mind, which is why Essentrics is a form of moving meditation. The neural benefits are therefore greater than relying on external weights. Sometimes I liken those weights to relying on coffee ☕ to feel energized or a glass of wine 🍷 to feel happy. It's nice to feel energized and happy, but it's even nicer if we can feel those without having to rely on stimulants. ☺

07/29/2023

A study published in JAMA found that just 10 minutes of walking daily could add years to your life.

Another study published in The Lancet looking at 47,000 participants over seven years found that walking can progressively decrease mortality. For adults 60 and over, between 6,000-8,000 steps a day had the greatest effect in decreasing mortality, and for adults less than 60, the range was 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.

Will you go for a walk today?

Studies:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2788473
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(21)00302-9/fulltext