sks-medical

3 Great Ways to RestorePositive Energy

Tue, 05 May 2026 16:13:43 GMT

3 Great Ways to RestorePositive Energy

Hello Lovely Folk

Finding peace is not so much about avoiding the chaos. It's building your inner resources, resilience and capacity to create your own calm amidst the chaos.

With three major surgeries between January & April, quiet deep nasal breathing benefitted me greatly. It calmed my stress responsewhilst working & studying with health challenges & significant pain.

As busy professionals we spend disproportionate time with our foot on the accelerater. Physiologically more so if you're a midlife woman.

All I ask is should any of these breathing tips peak your interest, please write down a regular time, day and place you choose to try these.

Be that rare individual committed to improve yourself just 1% each day. It's such a powerful mindset to have and retrieves you from even the darkest corners of life.

Change for the better does take time but -

As Thomas Edison said 'I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways thatwon't work. Attempt 10,001 could be your lightbulb moment too !

Good luck and remember that I'm here for you.

Your feedback helps me to better support you.

Boost Performance with Breath Holds

Practice breathing in and out through your nose.

On the nasal outbreath, pinch your nose & hold for 3,2,1, then release.

Continue to breathe through your nose until you resume normal breathing

Then repeat this same nasal outbreath pinch and hold for 3,2,1.

Repeat this exercise only once nasal breathing feels calm again,

Practice these breath holds 2-3 x daily over a 60 minute time frame

Why this Matters

This exercise improves your CO2 tolerance with huge benefits:

Reduces air hunger during intense exercise
Stabilises the nervous system when you feel under threat
Releases more oxygen from blood cells into muscle, reducing fatigue

So you can remain physically and psychological calm.

Make it Easy

Try habit stacking this with watching TV, cooking dinner.

As your CO2 tolerance improves, try these breath holds when out walking.

Find your Calm through Nasal Breathing

Breathing through your nose is a game changer because it increases areally important gas called Nitrous oxide.

Better still, try light low slow nasal breathing. As though gently vibrating afeather with your nose.

Why this Matters

Breathing slow deep & quietly:

Boosts nitrous oxide gas
Calms our overactive nervous system.

Most chronic diseases are associated with loss of nitric oxide production

It's worth re learning how to breathe through your nose as :

You did as a baby and as Nature intended
All animals, including our Easter lambs (above pho to).

Make it Easy

Practice breathing through your nose when:

Sat in one place for an extended period of time
Going to bed

Breathe Easy with Tongue & String

Place your tongue on the ridge behind your upper teeth

This opens your airway so that when you Breathe through your Nose it

Gets more Oxygen to the lungs

Regular practice over time, builds muscle memory,

So it comes naturally

Imagine a string on top of your head pulling you up straight

Your chest is now able to take in more air

Why this Matters

With age and stress we develop stiffer airways and the capacity of our lungsreduces by up to a litre. Declining progesterone levels add to this problem during menopause.

Make it E asy

Washing your hands
Sat in t raffic

Bonus tip

Do you snore or wake with a dry mouth?

You are probably breathing through your mouth.

If you breath hold or are sleepy during the day, consider being assessed by your GP for conditions including sleep apnoea.

If your nose is congested, consider purchasing nasal strips to wear at night.

Discourage mouth breathing at night by applying myotape.

Know someone who has had a stroke and is struggling?

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:02:40 GMT

Know someone who has had a stroke and is struggling?

The Different Strokes information Booklets are designed to support younger stroke survivors and their families as they navigate life after stroke.

You can read online versions or order a free booklet pack delivered directly to you here: https://differentstrokes.co.uk/stroke-information/information-pack/

Attached is one of the letters from a stroke survivor who had her catastrophic stroke 40 years ago.

The decline of our beneficial gut microbes

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 12:11:31 GMT

The decline of our beneficial gut microbes

Frogs have thrived for hundreds of millions of years, spreading across virtually every corner of the earth, from tropical jungles to subarctic forests. Throughout their evolution, they have developed remarkable defences including antibiotics, against the hordes of bacteria that thrive in their moist environments. One day frogs may also protect us from drug-resistant harmful bugs. Indeed engineers have derived potent new antibiotics from a frog's secretions which harm neither our cells or good gut bacteria.

It’s of concern that we’ve reached this point of seeking out new last resort antibiotics. Our overuse of these life saving drugs has increased resistance. They can even find their way into our food and water.

Disruption of good gut bacteria in young children is associated with an increased risk of developing many chronic diseases including obesity. Farmers use antibiotics in young animals to promote weight gain. It's understandable that the same could apply to giving antibiotics to young children.

The problem :

Modern life, including antibiotic use and Westernised diets, is causing a mass extinction of beneficial gut microbes.

The stakes :

The loss of these microbes is linked to increased rates of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, asthma, autism, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Take home message

Proper hand hygiene, appropriate antibiotic use only, and preventing infections through vaccination and healthy habits.

If on antibiotics, boost your gut microbiome with wholefoods and fermented foods.

Where possible avoid antibiotics in the very young unless needed.

Remember that many infections are caused by viruses which do not respond to antibiotics.

Learn more about the decline of our beneficial gut microbes by watching The Invisible Extinction.

This film is available on various platforms, including iTunes and Amazon.

Dr Satinder’s Monthly Blog

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 13:43:52 GMT

Evidence-Based Steps for Liver Health

The World Liver Day (April 2025) initiative emphasises realistic yet impactful ways to improve liver health:

Weight Management:

By losing 5% of your body weight

Personalised Nutrition:

Eating whole foods and unprocessed foods, as these are low in added sugars and saturated fats.

Consistency Over Fads:

A sustainable balanced diet is more effective than restrictive, short-term diets.

Early Intervention:

Healthy childhood nutrition sets the foundation for future liver and cardiometabolic health,

The take home message is:

Try to eat less ultra processed foods. When craving these try snacking on protein based Whole Foods like nuts, seeds or dried fruit.
Even if you can replace just one of your daily snacks this way, you are living healthier and your liver will be grateful..

You can achieve and experience more when you stop being serious and let yourself go

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 13:40:19 GMT

We are sailing in Greece and anchored off Two Rocks Bay in the Ionian Sea

I've had my morning swim and it's nearly 40 degrees so I decide to take a gentle teatime snorkel for maybe just 20 minutes, or until my severely arthritic right shoulder and left hand joints give in. My body has learned that it has to literally stop working because my head refuses to acknowledge I have limits, including pain.

As I amble along in wonky front crawl, considering whether I'll still be able to do this after my imminent shoulder joint replacement, I start to notice what's around me.

Unusually for me, this is an activity orientated rather than goal orientated swim, I'm not bothered about progress on my Smart Watch.

Effectively I'm allowing myself to play and be curious, by far the best way to open new lines of creative thinking. Before long I'm tuning out, peeling back 360 degree layers of hitherto hidden beauty. As I peer down, the bleached brown grey grasses come alive with shoals of pale shimmering fish. Beneath these, an even thicker darting body of dull fish emerges. On closer inspection they are a rich orange shade. I'm so transfixed and in the flow that I fail to notice that I have travelled beyond the headland, to a craggy volcanic outcrop carpeted in what comes close to how coral used to look. Whilst mostly still bleached, splashes of pale pink, salmon red coral sways in beat to the lapping waves (I’ve entered more exposed sea). I'm able to squeeze between the sharp rocks into a hidden treasure trove of coral and beautiful multicoloured fish of all dimensions traveling in pairs, groups, solo or large throngs. My eyes are level with theirs and our bodies intertwine to the sound of singing coral, yes actually singing! So loud I have to stick my head above water to check it isn't man-made.

A number of things come to mind as I swim back 40 minutes later having lost sight of the boat and happily so.

I did not set out to achieve a goal of getting from A to B in X time, consuming Y calories, and ticking off my daily movement goal. I had no agenda, no time limits and no expectation
After a few unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about limitations, overdoing it, damaging myself, too hot, can’t be bothered, I tuned out to Nature and truly connected with it. Eventually I was in mindful flow and tuned in to my core self. Relaxed body, slow steady breath, happy homeostasis achieved.
I was playful, curious, risk taking, being funny, childlike, smiling
I learned and experienced something for the first time. I’m privileged to have snorkelled and swum in the stunning vibrant coral reefs of Melanesia but up until today never realised how loudly coral sings.

My take home message

It is worth exploring beyond your perceived limits.
You can achieve and experience more when you stop being serious and let yourself go.