Humanity seems to have cracked the code to longevity, but our bodies haven't caught up to its implications yet.
After decades of work as a posture and body expert, Italian-born Ivana Daniel, who lives in the UK, has come to believe that people have lost touch with their bodies.
“Modern lifestyles offer us amazing benefits, such as longevity. Today, we can say that 50s are the new 30s,” she says. The National While visiting Dubai for a collaboration with Voatti, a wellness clinic in Jumeirah.
But the problem with longevity, she says, is that people are sitting more and not “living properly”, with technology being one of the main culprits.
“We're losing the ability of the human body to be built and created to be in constant motion. There's a disconnect here, and the disconnect was very rapid,” said the professional, before focusing on her career. says Daniel, who was a dancer. holistic health.
After sustaining a serious dance injury, Daniel quickly became interested in learning how to recover and founded one of Singapore's first rehabilitation and clinical Pilates centers. Since then, she has developed a signature method called Body ID, which focuses on identifying people's unique “body identity.”
“To begin a program for health in life, you need to discover your body's identity. It's multifaceted. It's about your lifestyle, medical history, genetic imprint, and athletic personality.” ” she explains.
Along with doctors and other medical professionals, Daniel meets with patients and discusses various aspects of their lives. So she came up with her own program that “works like a prescription.” This may include a variety of exercises to address specific body and postural issues.
“I'm not a fitness expert,” she declares. She describes herself as a holistic health practitioner who treats the body with a medical approach.
Daniel has partnered with Voatti in Jumeirah to provide consultation services to potential patients in the UAE. Although she is based in the UK, she said her body specialist intends to return to the Emirates on a regular basis to offer her services.
Daniel has also published a book. A manual for the modern bodydetails what people need to understand to maintain a healthy body.Here are some tips she shared National.
be careful at the gym
While gyms can be very helpful for people on their fitness journey, Danielle is concerned about simply “attacking the body”. She says her patients want to move away from a “gym-based, no-pain, no-work culture” to smarter ways of getting around.
Daniel encourages people to dig deeper into their lifestyles, as gym culture can be “very superficial.” It's all about functionality, she added, and sometimes “you can't do that in the gym.”
In his book, Daniel states that the human body should not adapt to any particular method of exercise. Instead, “exercise and exercise programs need to be adapted to a person's specific needs and lifestyle,” she writes.
“For example, don't just follow the latest trends or what you see on Instagram, be smart about what your body needs,” she added.
Reorganize your workstation
According to Daniel, one of the most common body-related problems today is incorrect posture, and the most obvious cause is that people spend most of their time hunched over at work.
Daniel suggests investing in a good chair. “Ergonomic chairs are specifically designed to provide adequate support for your hips and back during long periods of sitting,” she writes in her book.
She says the height of the chair is the most important thing to consider. “The lower the height of your chair, the worse it is for your lower back. The best way to do this is to keep your hips at a 120 degree angle. Do not cross your legs and place your feet flat on the floor. Sit evenly distributed on your hips.
Computer monitors should be at eye level, and “keep your shoulders relaxed to avoid stress in your neck and shoulder areas,” she says.
learn breathing techniques
According to Daniel, breathing is essential to building a good relationship with your body. She added that it is the most important act in life and yet the most underrated.
There are many ways to breathe, but only one is correct. “We use our lungs and diaphragm muscles to breathe,” she says.
“Learning proper diaphragmatic breathing is the foundation for learning advanced, more energetic breathing techniques,” she writes in her book, which also includes an introduction to breathing techniques (the art and science). There is a whole chapter devoted to it.
To determine whether your actions are correct, Daniel suggests several exercises. “Find a comfortable place to sit and try to keep your back as straight as possible. Place your feet on the ground and your hands in your lap.”
“Take a deep breath through your nose. As you inhale, your diaphragm muscles move down towards your abdomen. As you exhale through your mouth, your diaphragm releases and moves upwards.”
“Raise your neck and shoulders without using them. Diaphragmatic breathing requires you to focus on feeling as much as possible as your ribcage expands and narrows.”
Updated: April 26, 2024, 3:10 p.m.