Movement Medicine w. Michael Toru - Embodied Wellness Co. | Episode 04

Welcome to Embodied Wellness Radio, a podcast framed around MAKING WOMEN HEALTHY AGAIN.   We specialize in educating women on optimizing their health through fitness, nutrition, mindset.

 

Movement is one of the most foundational aspects of life, however often overlooked as a key to happiness.

 

Today we welcome to the show movement specialist and yoga instructor Michael Toru!

 

We can't speak highly enough of today's guest!  Michael was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder when he was 18 years old, and after years and years of western medicine, including surgery, was left feeling helpless. When he started practicing yoga his whole well-being became balanced and he learned to thrive! He now shares yoga and movement practice with others to enhance their lives from the mat, to work, to family life and beyond.  He Michael has completed his 500-hr training, and the Blissology Yoga School, and studies in movement go beyond yoga into tai chi, capoeira, Movement Flow, barre, gymnastics, and calisthenics. He loves to infuse inspiration from each of these modalities into his classes. 

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Michael Toru:

• Yoga With Michael - Free Weekly Youtube Yoga Series
• Raise Your State - Podcast
• Michael Toru on Instagram

Topics Articles:

Movement is medicine, and although we speak about it, and from a personal subjective standpoint most of us can attest to the fact that when we move we feel better, but HOW MUCH better are we actually getting?  We've curated some articles that go over movement, as well as studies that show the range of uses that yoga has been used for as integration to healing

Check these out - these articles on studies show that yoga specifically can help in aiding the treatment of depression, prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, anxiety, and more!

• Is It True That "Movement Is Medicine"? - Psychology Today
• Yoga Is Medicine for Our Times - Huffpost
• Is Yoga Medine - YogaU
• New Study Finds Connection Between Yoga & Mood - Science Daily
• Clinical trial shows benefit of yoga for side effects of prostate cancer treatment - Science Daily
• Yoga regimen reduces severity of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms - Science Daily
• Yoga shown to improve anxiety, study shows - Science Daily
• Yoga May Elevate Brain GABA Levels, Suggesting Possible Treatment For Depression - Science Daily
• Yoga can counteract fibromyalgia, study suggests - Science Daily
• Meditation, yoga and vegetarian diet linked to decline in plasma metabolites associated with inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk - Science Daily
• Researchers Find Yoga May Be Effective For Chronic Low Back Pain In Minority Populations - Science Daily

 

Another thing we spoke about in the podcast is how exercise is an incredible way to help re-program your brain.  This is partially due to BDNF production that is elevated in our brain when we're physically exerting ourselves. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a protein that, in humans, is produced inside nerve cells and encoded by the BDNF gene.  Before diving into more articles, first read this:

What is BDNF and What Does it Do?

BDNF & Exercise Link:

• How exercise reprograms the brain - The Scientist
• Exercise promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - NCBI
• Long-term exercise training improves memory in middle-aged men - Scientific Reports
• High-intensity interval training evokes larger serum BDNF levels compared with intense continuous exercise - Journal of Applied Psychology

BDNF & Learning:

• A simple role for BDNF in learning and memory? - Frontiers
• Endogenous BDNF is required for long-term memory formation... - Learning Memory
• BDNF: a regulator of learning and memory processes with clinical potential - Springer Link

 

We hope you enjoyed todays episode!