There is something magical about Christmas and I still feel the same about this amazing time of the year after living in excess of half a century on Mother Earth.

Like most of you, my needs, wants and “to do list” at Christmas has gone through several changes but I still get excited about the season.

The Christmas carols may play a role but certainly they are not the ultimate since our airwaves seem to be suffering from a “constipation” of carols, yet the atmosphere reminds you that Christmas is only a few days away.

Ghana, the capital of Christmas and inflation has gone through many trying times, but we are still ready to welcome the world and make every­one merry.

Has it ever occurred to you that Christmas can make you healthier if you live in the moment and refuse to be frightened by what January may offer?

I am not by any means suggesting that you empty your coffers for the sake of Christmas.

Let us take a look at the health wonders that Christmas may bestow on us:

1. Happiness and laughter

a. Surrounding ourselves with people we love and those who make us happy and fill our mouths with laughter is not only good for the heart, but the feel-good hormones find their way to every part of the body.

2. A time to socialize

a. The hugs and time with fam­ily and friends has an amazing effect on our wellness. Imagine if we could do this more often.

b. Even the phone calls to wish people well goes a long way to make our health holistic

3. Dancing aka physical activity

a. The party crowd and the church crew who make sure they break into sweat as music flows will be doing themselves a great favour. The longer you stay on the dance floor the less likely you are to be found trying every conceivable item on the menu.

4. Tapping into spiritual well­ness

a. You can’t go wrong when you spend time to read or listen to His Word, pray, give thanks, praise and worship. You just satisfied the spiritu­al wellness pillar

5. Periods to unplug?

a. The more you socialize, hug, talk to people and even dance, the less likely you are to be hooked to your electronic devices. What a welcome break for your tired eyes, brain and neck. Its all about Digital Wellness.

6. Balm for mental wellness

a. When you spend time visiting people or places, talking to people, laughing, hugging, spending time away from electronic devices then you feel good, and your behaviour is more positive and you tend to think clearly.

7. Giving is at the centre of it all

a. Giving is at the centre of Christmas. God gave us His only son as a show of love. This is a time to give your time, kindness, smile, love, gifts etc to as many people as you can but especially to those who may nev­er be able to do same for you. This gesture is a powerful tool that brings you happiness beyond measure and it is difficult to describe the feeling and the benefits to your body.

We can do so much for our health and wellness during this magical time of the year. We do not have to just stuff our mouths with food and drinks packed with sugar or sign a pact with alcohol such that we can hardly walk unaided.

With your renewed energy made at Christmas we can face the New Year knowing very well that our health is our responsibility.

We need to maintain our new found energy and momentum!!

What should we avoid so that we will not drain our energy?

1. Focusing on the past

2. Not getting adequate sleep

3. Not drinking enough water but loading yourself with alcohol, caffeine and energy drinks

4. Spending all your time work­ing and leaving no time to rest and socialize

5. Not being physically active

6. Spending all your time behind screens, TV, phone, computer. Making social media king

7. Eating junk food most of the time

8. Being resentful, negative or surrounding yourself with people who see no good in anything

9. Creating clutter and a mess wherever you are

10. Trying hard to impress others

I hope these tips will help you stay in the best state of your life and remember to continue doing these for the rest of your life. Does that sound too difficult?

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)

(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)

*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Ther­apy, Fitness Nutrition and Correc­tive Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unrav­elling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’

Thought for the week – “WHERE YOU LIVE SHOULD NOT DETERMINE IF YOU LIVE.”- WHO

By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Christmas decorations are already out and had it not been for the “thrill” of an upcoming election, Christmas carols would have taken over our airwaves. Very soon even the die-hard exercise fanat­ics will be so busy doing NOTHING that time to exercise or stay fit is as close to zero as practically possible. This zero is a figure that the Ghana AIDS Commission would certainly be envious of but we continue to make strides there as well and hopefully in the not too distant future we will achieve that.

We all wish our favourite exercis­es will give us the same benefits as all other exercises but the truth is that some exercises are “more equal than others” just as happens in every aspect of life.

This does not mean if you are unable to perform the most effective exercises, you should exert yourself and cause injury to your body. Re­member, Cobba’s First Law of Exercis­ing is “DO NO HARM”.

These exercises may just help you stay afloat this Christmas:

• Squats

• Plank

• Push-Ups

• Walking & Dancing

Don’t short-change yourself on these MUST DOs:

• Smiling; it costs nothing but gives you the world

• Sleep; can’t overemphasize this

• Give your neck a break and stretch it gently everyday

• Breathe; deep belly breathing is always a blast

Squats

Every single rep (repetition) in this exercise is worth the effort.

Squats target the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals, which in simple language refers to the thigh muscles and buttocks.

It is important to learn the right technique and since it exercises large muscle groups, you are able to burn a lot of calories with squats.

In every exercise session, it is important to work large mus­cles before the smaller ones.

Steps

1. Keep feet, shoulder width apart

2. Back should be straight (standing posture)

3. Bend knees and lower your rear till your thighs are hori­zontal.

4. Return to the standing position

5. Repeat steps 1-4

6. Remember to stretch the muscles used after the exercise.

If you have difficulty following the steps above, place a chair be­hind you and with your back straight try to sit on it. Do not let your buttocks touch the seat, then return to the standing position and repeat. As your technique improves, you may remove the chair.

As one gets stronger you may even carry some weights while doing squats but as always start with cau­tion. You may do only 3 reps at a time (properly). Gradually add some more. You can modify the effects of squats by widening the space between your feet or even having your heels on a slightly elevated surface.

When to avoid squats

• Severe knee pain irrespective of cause

• Knee injury even if no longer painful (you will need professional supervision)

• Acute back pain (you will later do back slides which is similar to squats and helps strengthen back muscles)

This exercise benefits almost everyone with a lifestyle disease. Hypertensives (those with high blood pressure) even get a bonus since it causes peripheral pooling of blood and helps to lower the blood pressure over time.

Plank

Arguably the safest ex­ercise for strengthening abdominal muscles and also has the added benefit of strengthening lower back muscles. Especially for people who sit for long hours (you shouldn’t anyway) this is great news for helping your back.

1. Start by getting into a push-up position

2. Bend your elbows and rest your weight on your forearms and not on your hands

3. Support your lower body on your toes

4. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles just like a plank of wood

5. Engage your core (midsec­tion) by sucking your belly button into your spine

6. Hold this position for the prescribed time. This may vary from 5 seconds to 1 minute. Repeat.

Push-ups (press-ups)

This is probably the first exercise most people try out; well apart from laughter and walking I presume and everyone is familiar with it.

Go ahead and squeeze a minute a day in there.

Walking & dancing

Before you set out to exer­cise your muscles remember to walk at least a minute before you start and a minute after you are done.

You may even walk while in one place, what matters is moving your legs and arms and getting your heart to pump.

Use every opportunity during the day to:

• use the stairs instead of the elevator

• walk while you talk on your cell phone

• Walk to a colleague’s desk at the office instead of using the phone or sending someone else.

• Pick your own stuff for cooking instead of sitting and getting people to assist with even the trivial errands

• Dance with your heart when­ever you have a chance; during your Christmas programmes, while watch­ing TV and even while you take a shower.

A minute each for Squats, Planks and Push-ups and two minutes of walking, then repeat the whole pro­cess (circuit training) two more times with no rest periods or 30 second rest periods depending on your level of fitness. Start now and make this your routine morning, afternoon or evening and it may just be enough to help you sail through the holiday season and start the New Year in your best shape ever.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)

(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)

*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essen­tials of Health & Wealth.’

Thought for the week – “For heart health you need to relax and have fun as well; schedule time for leisure, laugh often, learn to breathe deeply and maybe get a pet.”

References:

• The Gym Bible

• www.webmd.com

• 30dayfitnesschal­lenges.com

By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel