Umair Yasin

Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve is a more recent preserve of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. It has some endangered species, so access to it is currently restricted to either docent-led hikes or special events where a limited amount of self-guided visitors are allowed. I took advantage of one of those special events last Saturday, hoping to get in some good wildflower viewing and maybe see some of the wildlife. I rode my electric-assist recumbent to the start on Malech Road in San Jose. There I encountered enthusiastic and friendly volunteers who helped me get on my way after I parked the bike and switched to hiking mode. The is mostly classic grasslands common in California foothills. They are starting to turn, but we got a good amount of rain last night so I’m hoping they’ll stay green a while longer. It is a good stout uphill to Coyote ridge, after which the trail follows the ridge and is rolling. I saw quite a few beautiful poppies, lupine, and popcorn flowers. After...

This is really cool. Researchers around the world are collaborating on using large scale computation to understand the brain at verious levels. This requires a multidisciplinary approach. This article focuses on the European effort, the Human Brain project. Health Secrets of a SuperAger “The way we study the brain has changed fundamentally in recent years,” says first author Katrin Amunts, Human Brain Project (HBP) Scientific Director, Director of the C. and O. Vogt-Institute of Brain Research, Düsseldorf and Director at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at Research Centre Jülich. “In the past, separate communities have often focused on specific aspects of neuroscience, and the problem was always how to link the different worlds, for example, in order to explain a certain cognitive function in terms of the underlying neurobiology.” Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com The HBP has brought together communities from different disciplines and countries to work collabo...

I am prompted to write more inspiration about mental fitness because it is sorely needed these days. Covid19 has caused a large surge in depression and anxiety, and in the US at least we have an opioid crisis that has been called an epidemic. It is important to start by recommending that anyone with mental health issues see a healthcare professional, I am certainly not competent to give therapeutic advice. But mental fitness techniques like mindfulness and meditation can augment professional therapy. And many of those of us that are clinically normal can still stand to be happier. There was a famous quote from Freud that the purpose of therapy is to cure our neuroses so that we can achieve “ordinary human unhappiness”. Dr. Martin Seligman concurs in this Ted talk , saying that for much of its history psychotherapy has had the aim of making “miserable people less miserable”. Fortunately, there is now a field of positive psychology founded by Dr. Seligman. But just as it takes motivation...

I went for about an hour’s ramble standing up to pedal on my upright, in some areas still in town but near the borders. Then I switched to my recumbent and did an out-and-back on Coyote creek trail for about 90 minutes. Very nice scenery in both rides. This pleasant path runs around a local light-industrial park An off-road path next to Llagas creek Neighborhood backing up against open-space in the West foothills Poppies and Lupines Next to the Coyote Creek Trail from BionicOldGuy https://ift.tt/YdZIXlO via IFTTT

I went for about an hour’s ramble standing up to pedal on my upright, in some areas still in town but near the borders. Then I switched to my recumbent and did an out-and-back on Coyote creek trail for about 90 minutes. Very nice scenery in both rides. This pleasant path runs around a local light-industrial park An off-road path next to Llagas creek Neighborhood backing up against open-space in the West foothills Poppies and Lupines Next to the Coyote Creek Trail from BionicOldGuy https://ift.tt/CFJycVw via IFTTT

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/features/on-mental-states-mindfulness-and-self-transcendent-experiences As I mentioned in a previous post , I have had some experiences while exercising and meditating that could be described as “transcendental”. I have spontaneously felt like the boundaries between my little separate self and the world dissolve, and I was one with all there is. This is also accompanied by feelings of love towards my fellow beings, and is very peaceful and joyful. And it feels like coming home to my true self. Similar experiences have been reported by contemplatives from all the world’s spiritual traditions, and in “runner’s high” type experiences from athletes and explorers [1]. I was surprised to learn in this interesting review that “Some studies have shown that about a third of the U.S. population agrees that they’ve had an experience where they felt at one with all things”. This raises the question of the meaning of such experiences, and has made me interested in ...

Friday I went with a different hiking group, San Jose Midweek, back to another section of Santa Teresa park where the wildflowers are really beautiful. We worked our way over the hills from the Santa Teresa side to the Almaden Valley side, descending the rocky but scenic Stiles Ranch trail, then returned on a different trail to make a loop. It was a longer hike for me, about 7 1/2 miles, without about 1300 feet elevation gain. I again rode my recumbent to and from the start. So this was a total of about four and a half hours of exercise. I was tired afterward, but it was worth it for the scenery and the flowers. Gathering before the start at the Bernal-Joyce ranch entrance to the park Working Our Way Up a Steep Slope Through a Field of Mustard Grass There were nice displays of poppies everywhere And lupines Descending the Switchbacks on the Stiles Ranch Trail Taking a break at the Stiles Ranch Entrance, With a view towards the Almaden Valley in the distance ...

From my last blood test results a couple of months ago, my cholesterol, and especially my LDL (“bad” cholesterol) had crept up, so my cardiologist agreed to give me a chance to clean up my diet and retest again in a few months. My disappointing numbers reflected some overindulgence over the holidays that also led to a few extra pounds. So this was a good opportunity to work on better eating. I have had very good success in the past if I stick to mostly a whole food plant-based diet, making sure I get adequate protein, as I’ve described here . My downfall is when I backslide and indulge in too many snacks. I wanted this to also be a chance to be freer from compulsive eating, so I came up with my “Freedom From Compulsion” Diet. I’ve talked about “ training the senses ” to be free from compulsions previously. What I added was that in addition to eating healthy food, I must pre-plan what I have at each meal. I don’t make a big deal out of that, I can just decide something right before the...

( https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/02/28/retiree-doesnt-let-heart-issues-slow-him-down ) This month the story in the American Heart Association’s Journal “ Stories from the Heart ” was particularly inspiring for me. Chris Mathews has overcome multiple life-threatening challenges related to his heart health, including double bypass surgery, 11 stents implanted over the years, a pacemaker later replaced by an implantable cardioverter defibrillator , and aortic stenosis cured by a new heart valve (you can read the details here ). Despite these he continues to eat heart-healthy and stay active. His doctors think the fact that his challenges continue despite the healthy lifestyle are probably due to genetic predisposition (his grandfather, father and one brother all died of heart attacks) but he is still doing much better because of his efforts. As someone who has undergone his own heart-related challenges , this is close to home for me and motivates me to try harder to follow a health...

I rode my recumbent to Santa Teresa Park at the Bernal/Joice farm entrance, where we did a brisk four-mile loop with 850 feet elevation gain. The hills are still green and there were a lot of beautiful wildflowers. It was two hours and forty minutes total biking plus hiking for me, a good outing. Looking out over South San Jose from partway up Poppies in with the rocks. Coyote Peak in the background Various wildflower displays from BionicOldGuy https://ift.tt/vad9rOC via IFTTT

Alex Hutchinson wrote an interesting article about overtraining and undereating in the Globe and Mail . The main point is that when athletes are overdoing it in their training, their appetites can lag behind their calorie needs, so they are unintentionally overeating. This could be made worse for someone who is trying to exercise to lose weight so is also intentionally restricting calories. I had touched upon overtraining previously , but did not know about this connection with overeating. You may need to subscribe to the Globe and Mail to read the article, so here’s his summary: “Also, for the  Globe and Mail , I wrote about an interesting study from an international team led by Trent Stellingwerff of the Canadian Sport Institute, on the overlap between overtraining and undereating. Overtraining syndrome has long baffled scientists, because there isn’t any single reliable way to diagnose it other than by excluding other possible causes of a prolonged dip in performance. One exclu...

I did about a two-hour ramble Southwest of Morgan Hill to the recreation path in Gilroy and back. Very relaxing on a nice day. Heading Up Sycamore Road Descending the Other Side Offroad path in Gilroy from BionicOldGuy https://ift.tt/ftQDGvA via IFTTT

I rode my recumbent to Rancho San Vincente to meet my hiking group and we went for the classic loop “Lisa’s Lookout via Lisa Killough Trail”. It was a gorgeous spring day with lots of green grass and wildflowers blooming. The total workout, riding plus hiking, was a little over 4 hours at an easy pace. A great day. The hiking route, about 8 miles, but only 700 feet elevation gain and moderate steepness Our motley crew where the trail overlooks Calero reserviour Panorama of Calero with Lupines in the foreground Calero and its Dam Around the back side from the lake, Santa Cruz mountains in the background, Loma Prieta to the left and Mt Umunhum to the right Lisa’s lookout, a great place for a break from BionicOldGuy https://ift.tt/qi1KoTn via IFTTT