328: Embracing Natural Movement: Unlocking the Secrets to Vitality and Well-being

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  00:00

Now I'm incorporating that Blue Zone Concept of getting out there and walking, okay, because they, in the blue zones, they don't, they don't drive to the corner store, which is a quarter mile away they walk. And similarly when you know, we you and I try to do yoga at least once weekly, and our yoga studio is less than half a mile away also. So now, you know, we tried to plan things so that we can walk, take that extra 10 or 15 minutes to walk to the yoga studio. So guess what, if you walk there you have to walk back to and so that's incorporating it on a daily basis beginning to incorporate more physical activity and movement.

Maya Acosta  00:37

This is the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast, and I'm your host, Maya Acosta. If you're willing to go with me, together, we can discover how simple lifestyle choices can help improve our quality of life and increase our longevity in a good way. Let's get started. All right, friends. Welcome back to another episode of the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast. I'm your host, Maya Acosta. And this is another episode of Doctor in the house with Dr. Rizwan Bukhari, as the guest expert. Welcome, Dr. Perez.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  01:13

Thank you very much. Excited to be back again.

Maya Acosta  01:16

All right, we're gonna start with an icebreaker. And this time Dr. is I have generated questions associated with the blue zones. So if you could live in a blue zone for a week, which healthy habit would you be most excited to adopt and why?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  01:32

Oh, okay. Well, when you started that question, I thought you were going to ask me which BlueZone I would like to live

Maya Acosta  01:37

in? Well, that might be fun to answer to.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  01:40

Yeah, so I'll give you I'll give you both answers. Okay, so, so actually, now I can, this is like gonna be a long answer. But I've been to Loma Linda, because I actually interviewed there for my vascular fellowship. Oh, and it was one of my top choices. It was to actually my top two choices

Maya Acosta  01:55

before even knowing about lifestyle. spreadable, it's crazy,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  01:58

but yeah, this was back in. I interviewed for my fellowship in 1995, to start in 96. And so yeah, this was a long time ago, I didn't know about Blue Zones. I didn't know about lifestyle medicine, but I loved Loma Linda. And so it's a little inland from the California southern Southern California coast. But I liked the area and I really wanted to go there. So it was actually my it was one of my top two choices, but anyway, not Loma Linda. Okay, so I'm rolling out Loma Linda now. And I would say, Okay, we've got Japan, Okinawa, Japan. We've got it Korea, Greece, we've got Sardinia, Italy, and we've got Costa Rica left. I don't know how I'm going to make a choice. But I think I'll go with Costa Rica. Okay. Yeah. I've never been to Costa Rica. And but I've never been to the other places either. So, but I would I think Costa Rica is where I'd like to start. Okay, so that's what I would enjoy. Where I would enjoy living now. What habit? Yeah, what zones. So, you know, I think that what appeals to me most having grown up and currently living in Dallas was such a fast paced lifestyle, and so much work to do and very little downtime. I think the blue zone habit that I'm looking for is kind of the the unwinding the slowing down. The which you know, to me is more of a, the kind of the stress management and the mindfulness. So that's really what appeals to me. And in fact, that's kind of what you know, in general, when we talk about creating our own Blue Zone living. That's one of the things I really enjoy about like, because, you know, and maybe some of our audience knows that I love to sail. And so that's one of the things I enjoy about when we get away to our sailing. It changes the entire speed of what we're doing and are more in touch with nature. And it really feels very different. So that's kind of a, you know, I think, of course, all the things about the blue zone living appealed to me, but that's the one that comes to mind right away.

Maya Acosta  04:06

Yeah, I'm so glad that you said Costa Rica, because I've been trying to get you to go to Costa Rica for a long time. And we have places that we choose first before Costa Rica. So you know that I've been to Costa Rica several times. And what I love about Costa Rica is that I really do downshift. I really downshift and the meaning that I do let go I relax. And it's not just because you feel like you're on vacation. But it's more that something just causes you to relax significantly when you're there. And also that sense of community that people are very, very friendly. And then so now that you bring up sailing, I thought it'd be interesting to share that. I initially became interested in sailing from a trip to Costa Rica, where I did at sunset sail experience. And at the time, I didn't know much about sailing. So I remember the sales were up. But so was the engine, the engine was running. And so now we know as sailors, you either have one or the other. But if you have to have, if you're, if you have to have the engine on, that means you don't have enough wind to for the, for the wind to move the sail and to move you forward. So that was pretty, pretty funny. But that's where I realized that I wanted to sail.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  05:27

Yeah, I think they were faking you out. They put the sails up to make it sell for the experience, right. But they were motoring along.

Maya Acosta  05:33

And then when I met you, and we discovered that we both had this love for sailing. I remember at some point I said to you, oh, we could retire to Costa Rica. Or at least I thought in my head, we could retire to Costa Rica and have a sailboat there and run these sailing tours. Like in my mind, I was always thinking that I could do be a tour guide. And I mean, that still is a possibility. You never know.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  05:57

Okay, guys, we're backing it up and retiring. Yeah, next next podcast will be from Costa Rica.

Maya Acosta  06:02

I know when that'd be fun. I can't wait. Okay, you can ask me a question now.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  06:05

All right. Okay. So give me a second here to take a look. So my I'm going to ask you a question now. All right. So which Blue Zone lifestyle habit, do you think would be the biggest challenge for you to embrace? How could you make it more fun or enjoyable?

Maya Acosta  06:23

Oh, my gosh. Okay. Just to remind everyone what the principles of the Blue Zones are? Because I've already forgotten. Let me look at my list. I'm referencing the power nine to not only remind all of you, but to see which one you say which one would be the most difficult challenging?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  06:40

The biggest challenge? Yeah, which one would be the biggest challenge for you to embrace? All right, so

Maya Acosta  06:44

there we have move naturally, which I love. Purpose, downshift 80% Roll, we'll talk about that when we talk about food plan slant. Now they do promote drinking wine, I don't belong and loved ones first and the right tribe. All right, I know which one it was. And it's very which one it is. And it's very revealing, and I'm telling on myself loved ones first would be the most difficult, because I put so much on my plate. And when I talk about that I'm talking about work. I put so much on my plate that I take away from quality time from the people that I love, including my dog. So and I'm going to tell you what loved ones first means in terms of the nine, the power nine principles are the blue zones. So Blue Zone communities place great importance on family and prioritize spending time with loved ones, multi generational households, and regular interactions with family members contribute to well being and longevity. And in the previous episode, I was saying that I have not flown back to see my family since 2019. And yet, we've flown to California for the couples workshop. I have flown to New York for the vegan Women's Summit. And we've done some short trips here and there. But family is important to me. I just feel consumed by work a lot of times, okay, but I am putting into I am prior working towards our relationship because I work on that with my coach every week. And we went to California for an intensive Couples Retreat, and I really found a lot of value in that. What would you have guessed would have been the most challenging that? Yeah,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  08:37

I think that makes pretty good. Although, you know, I mean, I think your answer could have been none of them in this in the sense that they're all exciting to adopt a new looking forward to it

Maya Acosta  08:47

all. But that was not the question. I think the question was, which is the most challenging? Yeah. So it's, I'm excited for all of them. And I always want to grow and everything, but I think the question was, what do I find the most challenging? Is that right? Okay. In this quicker episode, we're going to talk to you about the importance of moving naturally in your environment. And for that, I'm going to first talk to you about what the Blue Zones say. So, welcome to the second episode of The Blue Zones lifestyle series, and today we delve into the importance of physical activity and the concept of move naturally. Inspired by the vibrant communities of the Blue Zones, we explore how incorporating natural movements and physical activity can promote longevity, vitality, and overall well being. So an intrinsic approach to physical activity is moving naturally in the Blue Zones. Physical activity is not a chore, or a regimen, like an exercise routine like we're used to in this high in highly intensive lifestyle we have, it is an inherent part of everyday life. The residents engage in natural movements that seamlessly integrate into their daily chores, walking, gardening tending to livestock and other low intensity activities, keep them active and energized throughout the day.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  10:08

Yeah, I think that's a very important point. And it's something that we can learn from them and those blue zones in how to incorporate more physical activity into our lifestyles.

Maya Acosta  10:19

Yes, I mean, as a matter of fact, I do move a lot at home in the sense that I work from home, I have the studio here, I work on my computer, but then I'm doing laundry, I'm mopping, I'm sweeping and vacuuming and washing the rug, so I am moving a lot. But I would like to be more deliberate and moving slower and more deliberate, so that it also feels zen like for me,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  10:44

no. And for me, you know, I've, I've learned my lessons from that. And, and I actually deliberately try to incorporate more physical activity into my day. And, you know, I am an I do like, the physical activity of going for walks and power walks and things like that, and, and even maybe lifting weights, but that's not what we're talking about here. And, and so when I talk about incorporating more things, now, I've started to examine what I do in my daily lifestyle. And, and I say, Okay, what would they do, they, as in the blue zones do. And so for example, you know, when I, when I want to go to the gym, which our gym is not even half a mile from us, I don't get in the car and drive to the gym. Now I walked to the gym. Okay, so yeah, I mean, I'm going from my physical, my, my exercise, but I'm, now I'm incorporating that Blue Zone Concept of getting out there and walking, okay, because they, in the blue zones, they don't, they don't drive to the corner store, which is a quarter mile away, they walk. And similarly, when you know, we you and I try to do yoga at least once weekly, and our yoga studio is less than half a mile away, also. So now, you know, we tried to plan things so that we can walk, take that extra 10 or 15 minutes to walk to the yoga studio. So guess what, if you walk there, you have to walk back to. And so that's incorporating it on a daily basis, beginning to incorporate more physical activity and movement in a, you know, in a kind of a fun way, or, you know, kind of, and so similarly, if you need to go to the corner grocery store, or the convenience store, if you can walk, you know, those are the things that I'm starting to think about. And then so, but also you can incorporate movement into your lifestyle, on a daily basis in other ways. And I think that's just the same lessons from Blue Zones. Gardening. Housework is pretty significant. I remember when we were doing a Walk With A Doc challenge, and we were doing these virtual challenges during the pandemic, because we couldn't get out there and walk with everybody. And when you started, they allowed you to record different types of physical activity. Yeah. And one of those was housework. Yeah. And so for 30 minutes of housework, you got so much credit. And, you know, so housework is getting movement in gardening is getting movement. Yeah. Painting the house is getting movement in, you know, doing chores. But then, you know, in the blue zones, it's just natural for them to do all of these things on a regular basis.

Maya Acosta  13:24

Yeah, I'll give you an example of natural movement. And I told you about it one of my trips, I went to a retreat in Costa Rica. Not long ago, probably I want to say in 2018. And I remember telling you that and I was in, I was very close to one of the Blue Zones in Costa Rica. I was exploring the area around my hotel. When I ran into an elderly man, I can't tell you how old it was. I decided not to ask him. Maybe it was 100 He could have been, let's just say that I could tell he this was a centenarian. He had walked 10 miles in search of his dog who likes to run away. And he was mingling along, you know, with some of the vendors in one particular little story there. And I happen to be walking towards my my hotel, which was quite a distance because I love to get out and explore by foot. And so he started walking alongside me and he asked for permission if he could just walk with me as he was headed back home. So I said, okay, and the whole time I'm thinking, Oh, my God, I wish I could take a photo. Oh, my God, I should ask him his age. This guy has got to be one of the Blue Zones, people that we've been reading about. And clear mind physically active, like if you didn't see his face, you would think and you only looked at his body, you would think he was younger. And he said he had been walking 10 miles one way, so that means he was going back home 10 more miles in search of his dog. Didn't seem upset or bothered

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  15:00

Maybe that's part of his daily activity is to lose his dog. That's true.

Maya Acosta  15:02

I mean, and you know, when you are in environments like Costa Rica, you're gonna want to walk. I know that. In many areas like I lived in San Diego when we met, I was used to being outdoors, I love taking my bike and exploring my neighborhood, because in some of these pocket communities, everything is there, you just can walk or bike people know each other, you get outdoors, you mingle, you know, the owner of the corner store, is just the way that some of these communities are designed to be more outdoorsy. And so I love the idea that you suggested we walk to the gym that we walk to yoga, because it also allows for more conversation and more downshifting just the natural movement, rather than Hurry up, get in the car, get to the, to the yoga studio, and then hurry up, you know, this fast paced lifestyle that we live. And,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  15:50

yeah, and I think that there's, you can look at this from a lot of different perspectives, and there's a lot of other things that you can do to break up the day and get naturally moving some people bike to work now. And you know, it's not an uncommon thing. And if, especially if you're not far away, or the weather's good biking to work is one way to get it if you can incorporate that, or new hobbies, getting out and playing pickleball pickleball was we talked about pickleball it's just fun to say pickleball. So you know, getting out and playing pickleball or playing some tennis or, you know, other various activities, you know, and you can do that, you know, that's another social activity as well. Or, and just, you know, think getting off the couch. Because we are we're a sedentary community are sedentary that world these days. And also, you know, getting out getting outdoors. And even a leisurely walk and getting out in nature. It serves multiple purposes. I think there's a lot of different ways you can look at just being physically active and moving. Yes. And, you know, quote, getting off the couch. Yes.

Maya Acosta  16:51

Because, you know, I also learned that in lifestyle medicine, some of the practitioners don't like to Oh, to use words like exercise or exercise as medicine because it might feel triggering to people who are not active, it feels like it's a huge mountain that they have to climb.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  17:09

I think I'm going to start doing this as I'm going to start prescribing people to get a dog. Because you got to take that dog for a walk on several times a day. Yeah. So yeah, that's, you know,

Maya Acosta  17:19

that's true. Our dog gets us out. So

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  17:20

you don't have to call it an exercise, but he gets you some exercise. That's true.

Maya Acosta  17:23

Dan Buettner talked about how people on average who have a dog may get out and walk even more miles than people who do not have a dog.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  17:31

So yeah, and I think there's some data that people live longer when they have a pet.

Maya Acosta  17:35

Yes. Oh my gosh, that's that whole. All right, let's talk about the benefits of natural movement. So the blue zone communities have unlock the benefits of natural movement and the power it holds for our physical and mental health. And here are some reasons why incorporating natural movement is essential. So improved physical health. As we've been talking regular physical activities helped maintain a healthy weight, strengthen muscle and bones and support cardiovascular health, engaging in natural movements provide a sustainable and enjoyable way to stay physically fit. There's also the mental health, well being. So physical activity releases endorphins, boosting mood and reducing stress levels. The simplicity and connection to nature, found in natural movements have an additional positive impact on mental well being fostering a sense of calm and contentment. So if you're watching the video, I'm showing you three books, I have lots and lots of books, but this three are related to the topic of forest bathing, and this comes from Japan, there's an entire studies done on forest bathing, but really what it really means is spending time in nature. And so I'm actually thinking about doing an entire episode just on forest bathing. So the secrets of therapy, of trees. And this one's called just forest bathing. And this is the main researcher Dr. King Lee, I don't know how you pronounce it. But as far as bathing, and really, it's a combination of getting outdoors, moving naturally in environments where you find trees, like in parks, and how you know, the trees give off these essential oils that are great for our physical and mental health that includes calming and a sense an overall sense of well being. So that's just another benefit to getting out and moving naturally.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  19:32

Yeah, and you've so you've mentioned multiple benefits of getting out and moving naturally, and I can't stress the importance of physical activity as we age. Okay, that's a really important thing. The as we as we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and bone density. And so physical activity helps build our muscle mass or lean muscle mass and bone strength. So it's important to get out there and be physically active as we get older as well. It's

Maya Acosta  19:58

great. Yeah, that's all It's such a good reminder. And you know, Dr. Oz, I didn't even know that stuff until I started learning about lifestyle medicine. I always thought that, you know, osteoporosis was a thing that we were just destined to, to live with. And now I'm learning that it's really about exercising our muscles and our bones in a sentence so that we can age gracefully.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  20:21

Yeah, I think that speaks to so many things about our health, that, you know, a healthy lifestyle from early on, promotes healthier aging, later on in life, because all a lot of these things are set up and started when we're younger, and they just don't manifest themselves till we're older. So bones and muscles don't just suddenly become weak and gone, when we're 65. Right. It's been it's a lifetime of habits that lead to that. So that's why it's important to have a lifetime of good habits to ensure healthy, longer living,

Maya Acosta  20:54

yes. And then also, so those are the benefits to being physically active or moving naturally in your environment. I want to also tell us in there that there are also detriment detrimental consequences to not moving and Dr. Michael Greger who wrote How Not to Die, talked about a sedentary lifestyle. And he said that you know how damaging it is for us to sit, sit for long periods of time. And most of us do that, whether we're sitting to watch TV or sitting at the computer to work, or just sitting for whatever reason, because many people have jobs that forced them to sit, he said that sitting is like the new smoking.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  21:36

Yeah. And we're sitting right now. So it reminds me of when I've, when we've interviewed Dr. Greger and then seeing his, you know, videos and other things. He's always, always always walking on a treadmill, at a standing desk while he's giving his interviews and doing his videos and other things. So maybe next time, we'll be coming to you from this podcast while we're walking on a treadmill.

Maya Acosta  22:00

I have consider that I just can't stand this, the noise behind all of that. But he's talking about like long periods of sitting. So if you're sitting for an hour, that's fine. But if you do have to sit for 5678 hours at work, to get up every hour for 10 minutes and do something move around, go grab a cup of coffee, a glass of water. The other thing that I'm learning, and this is not about movement, but when you're flying, when you're in an aircraft, it's very important for you to get up at least once or twice, it's it has to do with the circulatory part of our health.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  22:37

Yeah, when you're flying, there is an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, that's blood clots in your veins. So I often talk about getting up and moving around as much as possible, you're in these tight, you're in these, you're in these tight, cramped spaces that because as airline seats in the space gets smaller and smaller. So it's important to get some movement. And also, even if you can't get out of your seat, exercise your cats, move your legs, contract them and relax and try to get that blood moving. Yeah. And I did want to comment about, you know, when we sit at work for multiple hours in front of the computer, or whatever else we're doing, whether we're answering phones or making phone calls, and it is important to get up and move around. And even if it's just for a few minutes, even if it's just for five minutes, because there is a cumulative effect of getting up and moving around. So you don't have to say okay, well, gosh, I don't have 30 minutes right now to get up and move around. But if you can just get up and move for five minutes. And do that several times during the day. There is a cumulative benefit to doing that.

Maya Acosta  23:43

That's an excellent point. I have heard of people forming walking groups at work, so that you can combine it with your lunch break. So if lunch takes you, you know, 20 to 30 minutes to eat your lunch, you can walk with your co workers for the second half of your lunch hour, so that you get some sunshine in and alleviate some of the stress of sitting and just you know the intensity of work.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  24:07

Yeah, I mean, that's I that happens at my hospital actually. There's I've seen a doctor who does that regularly. I'm very impressed. And I've seen some other people and you know, if you got half an hour to eat, and it only takes you 15 Well, then you can get outside, you get some nature, you get out in the sunshine, you get some physical activity, you get outside of that. Sterile, no window environment. So there's a lot of benefits to it. Yeah. And again, even 15 minutes is meaningful.

Maya Acosta  24:40

That's right. And so also if you work from home, and that can look differently for everyone who works from home I do is it's easier to move. I think in your immediate environment when your home's risk just talked about having a furry family member, you know, a dog for example. Well my dog actually He, He has me taking him out every two to three hours. During my day, I'm doing laundry during the day I'm cleaning, I'm cooking, I might get up to do something related to like the house calling me to do something. Sometimes what I do is after I need a significant break, I run errands, which is always very refreshing to get out of the house, to change that mindset of Work, Work work. So there are many ways but you know what I would love to hear from all of you how you incorporate natural movement into your life, you might be raking leaves, you might have a huge backyard and gardening. And if you're watching the YouTube video, you can leave us a message. I'd love to hear how you are being more active in your natural environment. Talking about hobbies, I just want to throw this out there. So you can take dance classes. I have a friend that does side with her husband once a week where they actually hire a personal instructor and they dance.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  25:56

Yeah, what did we do for a little while was out square dancing.

Maya Acosta  25:59

We did oh, square dancing, a friend invited us to do that. That was so much fun. It was I mean, I think I laughed every single time we went I loved it. Yoga is one, swimming, hiking. So not everybody has access to hiking. But I want to tell you guys about a hike that we did recently, and I might have talked about it in recent episodes. We went to Caprock Canyon, about five, six hours away from where we live in Texas closer to Amarillo, Texas, you want to share more about that experience.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  26:30

That was a great time. And gosh, I enjoyed it so much. It was it sort of multiple BlueZone living things for me getting out in nature and managing stress and, and but you know, kind of, but also we got a lot of good exercise or physical activity because we like to hike. So we went to Palo Duro Canyon i and Caprock. Canyon State Park. They're both close to each other in the boat close to Amarillo. And you know, for those of you who are our listeners in the local area, and in Texas, I would encourage you to check those out because it's amazing. Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States, behind the Grand Canyon. That's who knew, right? I didn't know and I grew up in Texas,

Maya Acosta  27:19

I love every time we get out and explore these areas I fall in love with Texas even more. It's so different than the city life that we're used to.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  27:27

Yeah, and you know, and so that's a five or six hour drive there from Dallas. But you know, you don't have to go so far, there's still plenty of hiking. So for us, for example, you look up hiking in Dallas, and there's multiple trails here in the area where you can go for a hike,

Maya Acosta  27:43

and it is getting caught. We have a friend who did an evening hike not long ago. And it might have been like 45 minutes north of us. And she took an entire group. And that's just and you know what it was that structured is not something she planned ahead of time because her her job has these awkward hours. But she took advantage of that time, that window she had ended almost like a full moon evening hike, which I thought was really cool. Oh, we want to remind you again that every third Saturday we meet as part of Walk With A Doc. So we'll put a link, we always want to just remind you if you're listening for the first time that we do walk with our community to encourage natural movement and community.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  28:24

Yeah, and we have a WhatsApp group for the walkers. And specifically for the walkers so that we can communicate. And I would encourage you if you're one of our walkers to join that group. And that way we can talk about confirm the time or if there's a change or something like that.

Maya Acosta  28:39

That's right. All right, friends. So embracing natural movement is a powerful way to improve your physical and mental health while aligning with the Blue Zones community's wisdom. By incorporating regular physical activity into your daily life through natural movements, you can experience the numerous benefits of increased vitality, improve mood and enhance longevity. In our next episode of The Blue Zones lifestyle series, we will explore the vital role of nutrition for nurturing a fulfilling and healthy life. Stay tuned as we continue our journey towards a holistic and thriving lifestyle inspired by the Blue Zones. Goodbye. Thanks again for listening friends. You've been listening to the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast with your host Maya Acosta. If you've enjoyed this content, please share with one friend who can benefit. You can also leave us a five star review at rate this podcast.com forward slash H L S. This helps us to spread our message. As always, thank you for being a listener