Wellness Day Reflection

I initially chose the topic of bodyweight exercises off of the topic of headstands. The idea of headstands came to me because over the summer I did yoga classes. The teacher had us do shoulder stands and explained how the blood flow to our head was increased and this could help improve our mood. She told us that there was a whole art to reversing the blood flow in our body. This sparked my interest. In addition to this when I would get scared or start getting stuck in memories I was supposed to go upside down on a wall. I never quite understood the reason for this, and it might have just gotten my mind off the present and past, but it did spark my interest in this topic too. Body weight exercises came off of the headstands because it is a broader topic that is applicable to more people.

Something I learned was how to do a tripod headstand. I had to learn for the presentation and so I practiced. I already could do a tripod, but the fine muscle control and balance was challenging in the headstand. An academic thing I learned that exercise, not specifically bodyweight exercises, can promote growth of cells in the Hippocampus.

From a young age we are taught these exercises because they are so convienent and highly adaptable. The younger child workouts are easier and use the same or similar muscle groups as the more difficult exercises. Knowing about the different intensities of these exercises is important to properly scale the exercise to the ability of the group. We can also do some of these exercises while sitting, to make the sitting less destructive to your health. An easy one to do in a chair is leg lifts to the front. This engages the core a  lot and the thigh. Thi scan also help avoid pooling of the blood in the legs and promote circulation through the process of milking, the muscle contractions pumping blood up the legs. Doing bodyweight exercises can maintain a fitness level to keep the individual healthy. This can help improve overall muscle mass in the body, decrease body fat, increase cardiovascular fitness, and improve balance. Balance is improved by improving the core strength. You can also reduce your risk of atherosclerosis by exercising. The LDL in the blood stream is used for energy and therefore decreases the amount that is able to stick onto the artery walls. I would grade our wellness project as a 9.5 out of 10. I thought that I was confident and loud in my presentation and explained the concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. I could have had the activity be more flowing and pointed out the muscles as we were working out.

I am especially interested in the mental benefits of exercise, especially bodyweight exercises because they are so convenient. One benefit we talked about was agility which requires muscular strength and body awareness. Something I like about using bodyweight exercises versus a machine is I can use these skills in daily life and know how much I need to use my muscles to perform a movement. For example I know how much core I need to engage to stay upright on a bucking horse or a moving car. This I have worked on from exercising. Another benefit is some of the stagnant poses such as a wall sit make you focus on those muscles being used. The wall sit can be used so that you focus on the pain your legs are experiencing versus the thoughts your head. Your brain can only fully focus on one thing at a time; therefore, the overwhelming working sensation in your legs. The most interesting part I learned about exercising is that it can help fight depression. Regularly exercising, which I can do with these movements due to their convenience, can boot the endorphin levels and neurotransmitters in my brain, which help to improve my mood. Exercise is an easy and accessible coping skill that can be used in a variety of settings with no extra equipment needed.  Overall bodyweight exercises are an easy way to get active and get the benefits of exercise.

Unit 3 Reflection

In the final part of this unit we learned about the respiratory system. One of the main jobs of the circulatory system is to get oxygen to the tissues and carbon dioxide away from the tissues; the respiratory system is the system that brings the oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body. The air flow coming in goes through the nose or mouth and down the pharynx (throat). The epiglottis covers the trachea when we swallow to protect our airways, but in this inhale it is open. The air goes over the larynx and vocal chords, the area that produces sound, and down the trachea. The trachea then branches off into 2 bronchi then into bronchiole branches and finally aveoli. The aveoli have very thin membranes and are surrounded with capillaries. This is the junction between the circulatory system adn the respiratory system. Now is is up to the circulatory system to pump the freshly oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The diaphragm is the muscle below the lungs driving the breathing process.  An inhale is when the muscle actively moves down, but an inhale is passive. This is why when people die they have that final "death breath," the sigh before they die; they are relaxing into death. There are various respiratory diseases and disorders. There are ones where the respiratory system becomes inflames, such as sinusitis (sinus), bronchitis(bronchioles), pleurisy (pleura), Emphysema (aveoli). The enlarged structures cannot preform their task adn therefore cause a bodily response. Then there is infection such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, URI, LRI, and influenza. Lung cancer has a tumor in the lungs and asthma makes the bronchial walls spasm. Cystic fibrosis is when the mucus in the lungs is over produced.
This unit I stayed more on top of my notebook and did my relate and reviews as the notes were finished. I would like to write out the concepts on the study guide to help me study. My previous knowledge of horse anatomy has helped me through this unit. I know that when a horse cuts an artery it will be bright red and bleed with a pulse, but when they cut a vein it is dark red and bleeds steadily. I have tried to implement the better understanding I have of cholesterol and heart disease to my eating habits. I have been conscience of eating lower amounts of bad fats and not over carb-suming. This should help lower the LDL levels in my blood and eating good food choices should help raise the HDL levels overall resulting in me lowering cholesterol. The respiratory system I know has a large impact on working out. I had a chest x-ray last year and now I understand that they were looking for any irregularities in my lungs that could be signs of problems. I use deep breathing when I start to panic to calm myself down. This engages my parasympathetic nervous system and makes me feel calmer. Something I would like to work on for the next unit is connecting the new information I learn to what I know about the other systems and my health. I have begun to do this with the deep breathing and prior knowledge of horses' circulatory systems. This will help me lead a life with healthier decisions and improve my overall health.
Last unit's goal of making real life connections I think I have grown in. This unit I really thought about the circulatory and respiratory problems my family and I have and tried to understand what is really happening. I hope to continue relating the units to my life. As for my goal of healthily managing stress, I am still working on that. There are various mental hurdles I must overcome before I can truly have stress without sacrificing a part of my health.

Sheep Heart Dissection

1.The purpose of the pericardium is to protect the heart, lubricate the outside and prevent it from pumping too large and exploding.
2.Arteries have thicker walls than the veins and are ribbed on the inside.
3.The auricles are to allow the atria to expand and take on more blood.
4.The atria are covered in fat and have more blood vessels exiting around them. The ventricles are larger and have a line of fat across the top.
5a. The vena cava has a large opening that goes into the right atrium.
b. The coronary sinus has a small opening that we could not see into the right atrium.
c.The Tricuspid valve has many of the chordae tendonae attached to it and has cusps.
6.the picture. Even though the bicuspid valve, the main one you see, inst your tricuspid valve, it looks similar.
7.Chordae tendonae are important so the valve does not go backwards when the ventricles are higher in pressure.
8. the picture does not clearly show the bicuspid valve. The bicuspid valve does look similar to the tricuspid valve with chordae tendonae to a lump called the papillary muscle that prevents the valve from going backwards and allow back flow.
9.The semi lunar valves are to prevent back flow from the arteries to the heart.
10.a There is a back up of deoxygenated blood that pools the blood in the veins.
b.The body would not be getting proper oxygen. The person might fain often or always be tired.
12. The left side has a larger ventricle and a thicker wall so it can pump blood out to the body.
13. the picture. left and right ventricles. Bicuspid valve (main). Tricuspid valve (right side) myocardium (meaty looking flesh) endocardium (shiny inside) epicardium (the outside layer)