Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Something for your health...


I was waiting patiently for the mechanic to replace some parts on my car when the old foreman motioned to me into his office.  He pulled out a slanted wooden contraption from under his desk and asked me to stand on it.  I almost toppled over.  I couldn't bend my feet and ankles to match that 45° angle even if my life depended on it.  I got off as quickly as I got on.  He laughed and showed me how he could do it.  Wow!  And he's more than 60, a grand-dad, works like a horse and goes fishing weekends.  Now, that's being healthy!!


He told me he learned about this contraption from a Taiwanese friend.  It's supposed to help loosen the tendons behind the legs and strengthen those muscles and the spine and at the same time improves blood circulation, or something like that.... I wasn't paying too much attention anyway as he rambled on.  I was figuring out where I could lay my hands on some planks and make one unit myself.  And I did just that when I got home later.  If one old grand-dad could do it, I could do it too.


I built mine with slightly less incline with the intention of adding on more height to increase the incline to the standard 45° later when I can handle the easier slope. 


That was more than a month ago.  Now I can stand on it and read the papers comfortably for 15 minutes without wincing.  And I can also get up from a squatting position without having to straighten slowly for fear of breaking my backbones.  That's no play-play guys, that's something good for your health.  Wanna try?


For those who can read chinese, here's the manual


Meanwhile, there's also a word of caution for those who are pregnant in these instructions

13 comments:

  1. i should tell my parents about this since they're both very health conscious

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  2. A colleague told me there's a brochure describing it's benefits written in chinese. I told her to get me a copy. So far I haven't heard from her.
    They say it's very popular in Taiwan.

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  3. Can i do it on the 4 inch high heels - in the opposite way? Joking -ahhahaha..

    This look like the yoga practices for the leg - where yogis try to reach their toes in a sitting position, or using a cloth/strip to pull back the leg in sleeping postion.

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  4. This stretching technique also help people with plantar fasciitis (heel spurs) - pain in the heel or center of the arch (or for the pain when the arch is collapsing). I've had several accidents in the past that render me a plantar fasciitis patient with bad left foot. I have to do this stretching every morning before I start the day. It strengthens the calf muscles which give more flexibility to the plantar fascia (the muscle holding the front & heel of foot together) and take away more tension from the arch. Modern lil' equips are created based on this same concept: ProStretch (https://plus37.safe-order.net/cgi-heelspurs/a/b.cgi?p=pro) or Foot Wedge (https://plus37.safe-order.net/cgi-heelspurs/a/b.cgi?p=wed) just to name a couple. Many people disregard the importance of good feet health and didn't pay much attention to them. Wearing bad shoes is the worse torture to the feet, and when you dont have good support, the feet problem leads to bad back problem, and the overall health of a person.

    Since my first accident, and with the micro-tearing of my arch, I started having lower back problem, then it went up to the neck. All of them are inter-connected (spinal cord) and headache too is caused by bad back & neck. After much treatment, (I try not to take much meds) I've changed my lifestyle (activities, exercises, postures and other things in the house to help lessen the pressures on the feet & back) and on my way to full recovery. It has taken me about 8 years, and of course having a few more accidents after the first wasn't helping..LOL. So this summer has been awesome for me because I am once again as active as I once was.

    Stretching is the best way for prevention of injuries!

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  5. Thanks for your valuable input. I was trying to find more info on the contraption, but didn't know where to go. Now I know. Hope you gain back your optimum health.

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  6. I totally agree with this. Doing pilates and yoga also good for muscles stretching. I was once injured myself when i slipped myself down the staircase during my university years, but after trying yoga, the pain were relieved and now can be said fully recovered.

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  7. I've seen a traditional shoe maker (kah -kiak) sold this kind of shoe made of wood; the heel was in 45 degree as you mention; I tried it, It make me sweat at once......the shoe maker said that can improve your health....

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  8. 1 time yoga and the pain in the ass is relieved (i knocked my coccyx on the wooden bedframe). OUCH me for almost 1 week until my recent yoga class.

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  9. Ok folks. My colleague showed up with the manual. I've added the links. A word of warning: it's not suitable for pregnant moms.

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  10. sure got... but maybe not appropriate to mention here...hehehe..

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