Debbie Siebers, Jason Hartman’s guest on episode #42 of The Longevity and Biohacking Show, created Slim in 6 as part of the Beachbody fitness empire. There’s a good chance you’ve run across one of the Beachbody infomercials on a sleepless night, since they have been running for more than two decades without interruption.

Siebers’ relentlessly upbeat attitude promotes proper breathing, meditation and stretching on the way to a longer happier life.

The Big Picture

Mobility or lack of it can make or break your positive outlook and disrupt your daily routine. Old fitness terms such as no pain, no gain are outdated and can confuse us when we try to understand what constitutes progress and which exercises are hurting us. Even modified yoga poses can cause stress on a body grown inflexible due to an injury or chronic pain. Siebers believes the key is consistent movement and proper breathing. She talks us through a few stretching techniques and offers advice on mediation methods.

Who Wants Body Insurance?

We buy insurance for so many things in life: cars, houses, protection against catastrophic medical issues. So what does Debbie Siebers mean when she talks about body insurance? Simply put, you want your body to last as long as possible, right? That’s a basic human want. Your body is your life and will penalize you greatly with pain and inhibited function if you don’t take care of it.

There’s a great line in a song by Jimmy Buffett where his girlfriend admonishes him that, “I treat my body like a temple, you treat yours like a tent.” It’s a funny line but points out an epidemic of a problem in modern America; we don’t take care of ourselves.

It’s All About Mobility

Back in neanderthal and cro-magnon times, mobility was life. If you couldn’t move fast enough to dodge the saber toothed tiger waiting outside the cave each morning, you were toast. We’ve evolved incrementally since that time. Mobility may not be such an obvious matter of life and death, but lack of it can still kill you, though probably more slowly.

The critical first step in addressing a noticeable lack of mobility is to do something about it immediately. While the typical American response to a strained lower back is to sink deeper into the couch, pop open a Mountain Dew, and wait for it to pass, there’s a better way. The truth is you need to get proactive.

Take Responsibility for Your Health

Programs like Beachbody and fitness instructors like Debbie Siebers will tell you that even a fifteen minute stretching routine focusing on your core can lead to a higher quality of life, and it can happen sooner than you think. In fact, a modest combination of strength training combined with stretching has the capability to work wonders for your body, which in turn tends to boost your mental outlook.

What About No Pain, No Gain?

Hardcore coaches and athletes love to scream, “No pain, no gain!” This motivational shout usually occurs right before they push their body too far and end up sidelined for six weeks with an overuse injury. Siebers is not in favor of mindlessly pushing your body to extremes.

In general, pay attention to the kind of pain you’re experiencing during a stretch or workout. There’s nothing wrong with feeling a burn in the belly of the muscle. That means you’re taxing it properly; it will recover and grow stronger and more flexible. But according to Sieber, a pain in the joint is never a good thing and means you should either stop or modify the activity.

Good Yoga, Bad Yoga

Jason loves yoga, which is broadly assumed to be a gentle, relaxing form of exercise. Adherents of such variants as hot yoga or power yoga might beg to differ. Some types of yoga fit perfectly into that blissful image of casually stretching by the sea without a care in the world. Then again, you could be snapping out poses and grunting your way through a 120 degree workout.

The point here is that yoga can be physically intense. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, because it’s yoga, there’s no way you can get hurt. Maybe you want intense. That’s fine. Just pay attention to what your body is telling you because you don’t want to be the guy or gal who was injured during a yoga session. It just sounds bad in the morning paper. Stop before you hurt yourself! Back off. Modify.

Siebers takes issue with some of the poses, especially one that has the practitioner laying on the floor on his/her back, pulling legs back, up, and over the head. This one is particularly hard on the neck.

Seeking Longevity and Quality of Life

Living a long and healthy life is about as close to a universal desire as your going to find, and Siebers has a few ideas when it comes to attaining it. The concepts she espouses, unsurprisingly, fall into line with opinions expressed by previous show guests. One thing she focuses on is the importance of breathing properly. It seems like such a simple idea. We breathe without even trying, right? Maybe not. Have you ever really sat down and paid close attention to your breathing patterns? Try it for five minutes. No television, smart phone, radio, or other form of technological distraction please.

Every Breath You Take

What many people find when performing the previous breathing exercise is that they tend to take shallow breaths that don’t really move your lungs or enervate the body. Learning to breathe deeply is one of the best things you can do to reduce stress and sleep better.

The Positivity Factor

As Jason wrapped up the interview, he mentioned his grandmother, who lived to be 96 but seemed to be getting ready to die the entire second half of her life. That is a perfect example of negative thinking. If she had been able to turn around her thought processes, the woman might have lived to be 150! The bottom line is to get positive, meditate, learn to breathe right, put quality food into your body, and drink plenty of water.

Embrace this life, people! It’s the only one you’re going to get. You can learn more about Debbie Siebers ‘ uplifting approach to health and fitness at her website www.debbiesiebers.com .

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