This article appeared in Wednesdays Daily Mail, all I can say is she’s right Ms Parsons so go exercise, and if you ate stuck at home try our iPilates workouts for your iPod !
Six years ago, almost to the day, I suffered a prolapsed disc so severe my entire back went into spasm and my right leg felt as though it was on fire from thigh to sole. For two days, I couldn’t even move.
In desperation, I went to see an osteopath, who gave me a stern lecture about making my spine more flexible and my stomach muscles stronger. I diligently followed her exercises and then, after six months, started going to yoga classes.
I can’t pretend I didn’t feel faintly ridiculous doing the Sun Salutation or the Downward Facing Dog pose. But I stuck with it, because my back got better and stronger by the week.
Beneficial: Doing yoga poses can feel faintly ridiculous, but researchers have found yoga is better for a bad back than going to the doctor
So I wasn’t at all surprised to read yesterday that researchers have found yoga is better for a bad back than going to the doctor (except I’d argue that Pilates, which I now do instead, is even more beneficial, as it concentrates less on stretching and more on strengthening the muscles that support your spine).
Until my prolapsed disc, I almost prided myself on the fact I didn’t exercise at all. I had the arrogance of someone who was still relatively young and had been lucky enough to enjoy good health.
Like most of us, I used to expect a quick fix from doctors for anything that might go wrong. So learning how to fix my own back has been a kind of revelation.
Because, dreadful diseases apart, I really do believe we’ve forgotten that keeping healthy is mostly down to how we help ourselves.
The irony is, in an era obsessed with image, many of us have lost touch with our bodies and how they work.
Women are so terrified of giving birth — an act we are specifically designed to do — they want Caesareans on demand (and, unbelievably, it looks as if we’re going to get them).
We’re queuing up for diet pills and operations to fit gastric bands, yet — as a study revealed earlier this year — Weight Watchers is a far more effective way of losing weight.
Similarly, studies have shown exercise, meditation and cognitive behavioural therapy — all of which help sufferers help themselves — are far better first steps for dealing with mild depression than pills.
Instead, too many of us when we are feeling down reach for a drink — and then expect the NHS to repair the damage.
A friend who’s a doctor in a busy London A&E department says asking people how much they drink has become a routine part of her consultation — and people of all ages and social classes frequently confess to drinking 35 units a week, the equivalent of half a bottle of wine a night.
When, I wonder, did we lose the ability to help ourselves, preferring instead to persist with our harmful lifestyles and then expecting doctors to wave a magic wand when our bodies can no longer cope with the consequences — all paid for, of course, out of the public purse.
What we urgently need to do is to reconnect with our bodies and with life’s simple pleasures.
Most of all, we need to take control of our health and the best way to start is with exercise. Not even, necessarily, by enrolling for yoga classes or my beloved Pilates.
No, there’s a much simpler way. It’s free, easy and guaranteed to make you feel fitter and happier.
You won’t need a doctor’s prescription or any expensive equipment.
We just need to get off our sofas — and go for a walk.