Online Medicine

When you’re pregnant it’s very common to experience a range in your emotions.  Sometimes you’ll feel irritated, grumpy, or even down.  These feelings you’re having are normal, and can be changed with some simple exercises.  Try this sequence of exercises to improve your mood.  The first prenatal yoga exercise I describe will release tension in your body.  In a seated position, bring the soles of your feet together.  Inhale bring your knees up, exhale (through your nose) gently release your knees towards the ground.  Repeat 10 times.  Next, get in a comfortable cross legged seated position (you can place pillows, blankets, or towels underneath you).  To release tension in your head and neck, bring your right arm over the top of your head.  Place your right hand near your ear, inhale and gently press your head into your hand, release on the exhale.  Repeat 10 times, then repeat the exercise on the other side.  Last, to relax your mind and body,  close your eyes and take 8 deep cleansing breaths…breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.  Notice the difference in how you feel.  Breathe this feeling in and slowly open your eyes.  Don’t you feel so much better now?!

A protein called NMNAT protects against nerve cell degeneration in fruit flies and mice, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report in the Public Library of Science Biology that appears online today. The finding begs the question if a drug might be developed that could stimulate extra protein production and thus neuronal protection – both in injured cells and in those degenerating because of disease, said Dr. Hugo Bellen, the paper's senior author, director of the BCM Program in Developmental Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. While more work needs to be done to determine whether that would be desirable, Bellen said the finding is an important one because it identifies NMNAT as essential in the life of the body's neurons. Much of the work described in the paper was done by its first author, Dr. R. Grace Zhai, a postdoctoral fellow in Bellen's laboratory. The story began two decades ago when researchers in the U.K. …

P(acman) – a new method of introducing DNA into the genome of fruit flies or Drosophila – promises to transform the ability of scientists to study the structure and function of virtually all the fly's genes, and the method may be applicable to other frequently studied organisms such as mice, said its Baylor College of Medicine developers in an article in the current issue of the journal Science. "P(acman) overcomes a key limitation of currently available methods because it allows you to study large chunks of DNA in vivo," said Dr. Hugo Bellen, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the program in developmental biology. He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The new technique allows researchers to study large genes and even gene complexes in the fruit fly, which was not possible before. P/phiC31 artificial chromosome for manipulation, or P(acman), combines three recently …

“Sara, I wanted to write a quick note to let you know how much I have enjoyed going to your Yoga classes. The classes are always at the end of a long busy day for me. I enjoy them so much. I like that you ask each of your students how they are feeling and what type of class they would like. I always leave very relaxed. It is amazing what a sound sleep I have after I go to your Yoga class in the evening.”

Sincerely, Debbie F.

So many moms ask me if it’s truly possibly to get back the body they had prior to baby.  The answer is, “yes…and it can be even better than before!”  From personal experience I admit that my body has definately changed since having two children, but I think in big part it’s because of the exercises I’m doing now vs. due to having kids (besides the change in my breasts from nursing!).  Prior to having children I used to lift heavy weights and do a ton of the stairmaster and teaching classes.  After having children I cut way down on my weight lifting, increased my yoga, taught less, and exercise outside vs. on a stairmaster.  The yoga has made my muscles longer vs. thick and bunchy, and modifying my exercises so I’m not over-working my muscles has improved my muscle tone.  My advice is this, believe that you can have your body back and enjoy the exercises you do.  Remember everything in moderation!