Bill, The flying carpet is only good for moving shikantaza. Don't use it for shikanwalk, or you will fall over the edge. No God's hand can help you.
Anthony --- On Sat, 15/1/11, Bill! <[email protected]> wrote: From: Bill! <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] News: Can sitting too much kill you? To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, 15 January, 2011, 8:13 AM Anthony, How about shikanwalk? --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@...> wrote: > > Bill, > > You say, "any activity I do (like daily life) with a clear mind (Buddha Mind) > is shikantaza". > > When I move from place to place with a clear mind is 'just sitting' > (=shikantaza). I can't think of a better way of doing that than ride a flying > carpet. > > Anthony > > --- On Fri, 14/1/11, Bill! <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > From: Bill! <BillSmart@...> > Subject: Re: [Zen] News: Can sitting too much kill you? > To: [email protected] > Date: Friday, 14 January, 2011, 8:49 AM > > > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > > Kristy, > When I use the word sitting I refer to zazen. I've said this many > times. And for me zazen is shikantaza; and shikantaza is 'clear mind'. > So..., is zazen. Washing dishes with a clear mind is zazen. > I think at least you'll agree that washing dishes = daily life. > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], Kristy McClain <healthyplay1@> wrote: > > > > The point being that > sitting = < daily life. k > > > > > > --- On Thu, 1/13/11, Bill! BillSmart@ wrote: > > > > > > From: Bill! BillSmart@ > > Subject: Re: [Zen] News: Can sitting too much kill you? > > To: [email protected] > > Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 5:12 PM > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > Sitting is daily life. Daily life is sitting. ...Bill! > > > > --- In [email protected], Kristy McClain healthyplay1@ wrote: > > > > > > Amen. > > >  > > > Thanks for sharing this! k > > > > > > > > > --- On Thu, 1/13/11, Edgar Owen edgarowen@ wrote: > > > > > > > > > From: Edgar Owen edgarowen@ > > > Subject: [Zen] News: Can sitting too much kill you? > > > To: [email protected] > > > Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 5:22 AM > > > > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > For all you deluded ones who believe that sitting instead of daily life > > > is Zen. > > > :-) > > > > > > > > > Edgar > > > > > > > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Can sitting too much kill you? > > > By Travis Saunders | Jan 6, 2011 10:39 AM > > > We all know that physical activity is important for good > > > healthâ€"regardless of your age, gender or body weight, living > > > an active lifestyle can improve your quality of life and dramatically > > > reduce your risk of death and disease. But even if you are meeting > > > current physical activity guidelines by exercising for one hour per day > > > (something few Americans manage on a consistent basis), that leaves 15 to > > > 16 hours per day when you are not being active. Does it matter how you > > > spend those hours, which account for more than 90% of your day? For > > > example, does it matter whether you spend those 16 hours sitting on your > > > butt, versus standing or walking at a leisurely pace? Fortunately or > > > unfortunately, new evidence suggests that it does matter, and in a big > > > way. > > > What is sedentary behavior? > > > Before we go any further, it’s important that we define > > > the term "sedentary behavior". Sedentary behavior is typically defined as > > > any behavior with an exceedingly low energy expenditure (defined as <1.5 > > > metabolic equivalents). In general, this means that almost any time you > > > are sitting (e.g. working on a computer, watching TV, driving) or lying > > > down, you are engaging in sedentary behavior. There are a few notable > > > exceptions when you can be sitting or lying down but still expend high > > > energy expenditure (e.g. riding a stationary bike), but in general if you > > > are sitting down, you are being sedentary. > > > The above definition may seem rather intuitive, but this is not the way > > > that the term sedentary has been used by exercise science researchers for > > > the past 50 years. Up until very recently, referring to someone as > > > sedentary meant simply that they were not meeting current guidelines for > > > physical activity. In simple terms, if you were exercising for 60+ > > > minutes/day, you were considered physically active. If you were > > > exercising 10 minutes/day, you were sedentary. Case closed. But as we > > > will discuss below, sedentary time is closely associated with health risk > > > regardless of how much physical activity you perform on a daily basis. > > > Further, it is entirely possible to meet current physical activity > > > guidelines while still being incredibly sedentary. Thus, to quote > > > researcher Marc Hamilton, sitting too much is not the same as exercising > > > too little. (if you take only one thing from this post, let it be that > > > quote from Dr Hamilton). Which is why it is so > important > > > that when we use the term "sedentary", we are all on the same page about > > > what that means. > > > Now that we know what sedentary behavior is, let’s look > > > at its relationship with health risk. > > > Epidemiological Evidence > > > In 2009 Dr Peter Katzmarzyk and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical > > > Research Center published an influential longitudinal paper examining the > > > links between time spent sitting and mortality in a sample of more than > > > 17,000 Canadians (available here). Not surprisingly, they report that > > > time spent sitting was associated with increased risk of all-cause and > > > cardiovascular disease mortality (there was no association between > > > sitting and deaths due to cancer). But what is fascinating is that the > > > relationship between sitting time and mortality was independent of > > > physical activity levels. In fact, individuals who sat the most were > > > roughly 50% more likely to die during the follow-up period than > > > individuals who sat the least, even after controlling for age, smoking, > > > and physical activity levels. Further analyses suggested that the > > > relationship between sitting time and mortality was also independent of > > > body weight. This suggests that all things being equal > > (body > > > weight, physical activity levels, smoking, alcohol intake, age, and sex) > > > the person who sits more is at a higher risk of death than the person who > > > sits less. > > > The above findings linking excessive sitting with poor health are far > > > from isolated. For example, a similar longitudinal study from Australia > > > reports that each hour of daily television viewing (a proxy of sedentary > > > time) is associated with an 11% increase in the risk of all-cause > > > mortality regardless of age, sex, waist circumference, and physical > > > activity level. And as my colleagues and I summarize in a recent review > > > paper (PDF), numerous epidemiological studies have linked sedentary > > > behavior with obesity, cardiometabolic risk, and even some cancers. > > > New evidence also suggests that in addition to the quantity of sedentary > > > time, the quality of sedentary time may also have an important health > > > impact. For example, Genevieve Healy and colleagues examined this issue > > > in participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle > > > (AusDiab) Study. A total of 168 men and women aged 30-87 years wore an > > > accelerometer (an objective measure of bodily movement) during all waking > > > hours for 7 consecutive days, which allowed the researchers to quantify > > > the amount of time that participants spent being sedentary, as well as > > > how frequently they interrupted these sedentary activities (e.g. > > > standing, walking to the washroom, etc). > > > What did they find? > > > The greater the number of breaks taken from sedentary behavior, the lower > > > the waist circumference, body mass index, as well as blood lipids and > > > glucose tolerance. This was true even if the total amount of sedentary > > > time and physical activity time were equal between > > > individualsâ€"the one who took breaks more frequently during > > > their time at the office or while watching television was less obese and > > > had better metabolic health. Importantly, the breaks taken by the > > > individuals in this study were of a brief duration (<5 min) and a low > > > intensity (such as walking to the washroom, or simply standing). > > > Taken together, the epidemiological evidence strongly suggests that > > > prolonged sitting is an important health risk factor. But what explains > > > these relationships? Let’s now look at the multiple > > > mechanisms linking sedentary time with increased health risk. > > > Mechanisms > > > Reduced Energy Expenditure > > > Quite obviously (and by definition), when you are sedentary, you are not > > > being physically active. And so one common assumption is that people who > > > sit more are at increased health risk simply because they are getting > > > less physical activity. However, somewhat surprisingly, sitting time and > > > physical activity do not appear to be related for most people. For > > > example a paper from the European Youth Heart Study published in PLoS > > > Medicine reports no association between physical activity and TV watching > > > in a sample of nearly 2000 children and teenagers, and other reports > > > suggest that there is little evidence that sedentary behavior displaces > > > moderate or vigorous physical activity. So while it makes intuitive sense > > > that being sedentary reduces energy expenditure, it is likely through the > > > reduction of very light intensity physical activity (e.g. standing, > > > walking at a slow pace), rather than by reducing the volume of what we > > > typically think of as exercise. This > > may > > > also help explain why the relationship between sedentary behavior and > > > health risk are often independent of moderate or vigorous physical > > > activity. > > > Increased Food Intake > > > In addition to reducing our energy expenditure, sedentary behaviors may > > > also promote excess food intake. For example, a recently published study > > > in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that the amount of > > > commercial television (e.g. television with advertisements) that children > > > watch before the age of 6 is associated with increased body weight 5 > > > years down the road, even after adjustment for other important variables > > > including physical activity, socio-economic status and > > > mother’s BMI. In contrast, watching non-commercial > > > television (DVD’s or TV programs without commercials) > > > showed no association with body weight. Similarly, it has also been > > > reported that each hour of daily television watching in children is > > > associated with an increased consumption of 167 calories per day (PDF), > > > mainly through increased consumption of high calorie, low nutrient foods > > > (e.g. the foods most commonly advertised on television). > Much of this is likely > > just a > > > learned behaviorâ€"watching TV exposes us to food ads promoting > > > unhealthy fare, which is likely to have a disproportionate influence on > > > younger viewers. Just as importantly, people may just really enjoy > > > munching on food while relaxing on the couch. Either way, excess sitting > > > (and TV watching in particular) seems to put us in situations where we > > > choose to eat more than we would otherwise. > > > Physiological Adaptations > > > I don’t think the mechanisms described > > > aboveâ€"that sitting too much may lead to reduced energy > > > expenditure and increased food intakeâ€"will come as much of a > > > surprise. But what I find truly fascinating is that sedentary behavior > > > also results in rapid and dramatic changes in skeletal muscle. For > > > example, in rat models, it has been shown that just 1 day of complete > > > rest results in dramatic reductions in muscle triglyceride uptake, as > > > well as reductions in HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). And in > > > healthy human subjects, just 5 days of bed rest has been shown to result > > > in increased plasma triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, as well as > > > increased insulin resistanceâ€"all very bad things. And these > > > weren’t small changesâ€"triglyceride levels > > > increased by 35%, and insulin resistance by 50%! > > > These negative changes are likely related to reductions in the activity > > > of lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme which allows muscle to uptake fat, > > > thereby reducing the amount of fat circulating in the blood (it also > > > strongly influences cholesterol levelsâ€"the details can be > > > found here). Animal research has shown that lipoprotein lipase activity > > > is reduced dramatically after just six hours of sedentary > > > behaviorâ€"not unlike a typical day at work or school for many > > > individuals. Sedentary behavior may also reduce glucose transporter > > > protein content in the muscle, making it more difficult for glucose to be > > > taken into the muscle and resulting in higher blood sugar levels. What is > > > most interesting to me personally is that these physiological changes in > > > skeletal muscle have little or nothing to do with the accumulation of > > > body fat, and occur under extremely rapid time-frames. This means that > > > both lean and obese individuals, and even those with > otherwise > > active > > > lifestyles, are at increased health risk when they spend excessive > > > amounts of time sitting down. > > > Should we be concerned about the health impact of sedentary behavior? > > > Yes. > > > Western society is built around sitting. We sit at work, we sit at > > > school, we sit at home, and we sit in our cars as we commute back and > > > forth. In fact, a recent survey reports that the average American > > > accumulates more than 8 hours of sedentary behavior every > > > dayâ€"roughly half of their waking hours. The situation in > > > children is, unfortunately, no different. There is evidence that children > > > in both Canada and the USA (PDF) accumulate more than 6 hours of > > > screen-time (time spent in front of the TV, computer, or other > > > screen-based device) on a daily basis. Keep in mind that screen-time is > > > almost exclusively sedentary (active video games excluded), and that all > > > these hours of sedentary behavior are in addition to the hours and hours > > > (and hours) that kids spend sitting at school. In fact, a recent study > > > reports that roughly 70% of class time, including physical education > > > class, is completely sedentary (while slightly better than class time, > children > > were > > > also sedentary for the majority of lunch and recess). > > > In short, given the consistent links between sedentary behavior and both > > > death and disease, and the ubiquity of sedentary behavior in our society, > > > we should be very concerned about the health impact of sedentary behavior. > > > What is the take-home message? > > > There is a rapidly accumulating body of evidence which suggests that > > > prolonged sitting is very bad for our health, even for lean and otherwise > > > physically active individuals. The good news? Animal research suggests > > > that simply walking at a leisurely pace may be enough to rapidly undo the > > > metabolic damage associated with prolonged sitting, a finding which is > > > supported by epidemiological work in humans. So, while there are a lot of > > > questions that remain unanswered (e.g. Is there a > > > â€Å"safe� amount of daily sedentary time?), the > > > evidence seems clear that we should strive to limit the amount of time we > > > spend sitting. And when we do have to sit for extended periods of time > > > (which, let’s face it, is pretty much every single day > > > for many of us) we should take short breaks whenever possible. > > > Finally, if you take only one thing from this post, let it be > > > thisâ€"sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little. > > > > > >
