The following exercise routine is a relatively easy yet effective way to bring suppleness and flexibility to any or all of your body's major muscles and joints. If you are particularly stiff in any particular area you will soon become aware of it. Given time to deal with this inflexibility, the exercises will soon restore ease of movement to the joint or joints and strengthen your body's symmetry.

The fitness of your body's joints can be rated according to their degree of flexibility. If underlying stiffness restricts their range of movement, then the functioning of your muscles and joints is inhibited and as such they are not fit and healthy.
They can only function within a limited range of movement, and if left untreated they distort the body's framework and symmetry as their condition becomes more permanent and more chronic with age and self-neglect.

Given time this slow degeneration will have a devastating effect upon your health and daily activities.

Two of life's greatest gifts are sensation and movement— both found in the body's muscles and joints. Muscles and joints that contain stiffness are partially numb to sensation and partially paralysed in movement and this can severely undermine the overall health and fitness of your body.

The brief descriptions and illustrations of the exercises should help you to visualise the relative muscles and joints and, with each position, a description of where you are most likely to experience the strongest sensations has been added for your guidance and reassurance.

Stretch but do not strain, use massage where shown and be consistent — practise for at least an hour or so every other day or once or twice a week.

To make the exercises as comfortable as possible most of them have been graded into a number of steps or phases. Start by practising the first step of each exercise and do not advance to the next step until you can maintain the previous one comfortably for the given period of time.

Like trying to get up a ladder, you can spend a lifetime trying to jump to the top but if you are patient with yourself and persevere one step at a time you will soon get to the top.
The effects of these exercises are cumulative so, providing you practise regularly, you will improve by degrees with every session. Every discomfort that you overcome will be amply rewarded with a new sense of ease and pleasure and the ability to do a whole new range of activities.

Ankles

The ankles consist of a number of joints that are governed by the muscles of the lower legs. Together they bend, straighten and turn the feet inwards and outwards. The entire weight of the body is transferred through the ankle joints on to the sprung arches of the feet and then to the ground through the heels and toes.

Because they form the base of the body, the ankles and feet support more weight than any other part of the body. Stiffness or weakness in the ankles and arches of the feet can therefore cause problems right up through the body and can easily affect its overall structural symmetry.

If you can improve the flexibility of your ankles and the suppleness of your lower leg muscles you will greatly improve your body's balance and its ability to relax while upright and active.

Phase 1

Sit upright with your buttocks on the floor, on or between your feet with your weight supported on your buttocks and straight arms. Relax and using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes. You will feel this in your ankles and the front of your legs.

Phase 2

When you can sit between your feet with your feet turned inwards, pull your buttocks out and try to sit on the backs of your thighs in front of your buttock bones. Straighten your back and pull your shoulders downwards and your shoulder blades together. Using the proper breathing rhythm, try to maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Benefits

This is a traditional Eastern sitting position. It tones the muscles of your lower legs and strengthens the muscles of your back. It greatly improves the flexibility of your ankles and, when the posture is comfortable, it encourages a proper sitting position.
The most important point to note however is, whether you sit on the floor or on a chair, always sit on the back of your thighs, not your buttocks. This strengthens your lower back, relaxes your abdomen and encourages the spine to straighten and the chest to open.

The knees are the largest single joints of the body. They consist of the head of the thigh bone and the head of the shin bone, a cartilage cushion to protect them and a bony cup that prevents them from over-extending.

Of all the joints, the knee is the most complex and frequently injured. Compared to other joints the knee is relatively unprotected by surrounding muscles and consequently is prone to injury by blows or sudden stops and turns.

However, if you can improve the strength and flexibility of the knees, you will greatly improve the balance and ease of movement of your body when upright.

Phase 1

Sitting between your feet with your knees together, inhale deeply. On the exhalation recline backwards, resting your weight on straight arms.

Using the proper breathing rhythm try to maintain this position for one to three minutes. You will feel this in your ankles, knees, the front of your lower legs and your front thighs.

Phase 2

Tighten your buttocks to prevent lower back pain. Take a deep inhalation, push your pelvis forward and recline back on to your elbows. Try to relax and, using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one to three minutes.

Phase 3

Tighten your buttocks, take a deep inhalation, push your pelvis forward and, on the exhalation, recline with your back against the floor. If there is no pain in your lower back relax your buttocks and try to keep your knees to the floor, together or at least close together. If your lower back hurts when you relax your buttocks, open your knees.

Relax and using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to three minutes.

You will feel this throughout the front of your legs, especially your thighs and your lower abdomen. Do not tolerate back pain in this position.

Benefits

This exercise vastly improves the flexibility of your knees and ankles. It also tones the muscles of the lower belly, thighs and front legs and strengthens your lower back.

Hips

The hip joints are the central joints of your skeleton, situated a hands-span apart on the front of the lower pelvis. They are large ball-and-socket joints and, like a gear lever or a joystick, they allow movement in all directions.

It is from these joints that your body bends forward and balances upright when sitting; because of this, their flexibility is crucial to the health and integrity of your spine. If the hip joints are inflexible, the body bends forward from the spine.

Similarly, when sitting, if the hip joints are inflexible, the body sits on the base of the back or buttocks and not on the backs of the legs; consequently the spine bends or rounds forward in order to maintain balance.

The flexibility of your hip joints is therefore vital to the strength of your back and in maintaining a relaxed upright posture.

Phase I

Stand with your feet about 4 feet apart. Turn your toes inwards and bend your knees, lean forward and rest your hands on your lower back.

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation straighten your legs. You will feel this in your inside thighs.
Try to maintain the position, using the proper breathing rhythm, for one to five minutes.

Benefits

This exercise tones the inside and back thigh muscles and greatly improves the flexibility of your hip joints. It also improves circulation, especially to the head and trunk.

Phase 2

Open your legs wider, bend your knees and bring the palms of your hands to the floor, and now straighten both your legs. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation push your trunk back as far as you can, keeping your heels and toes firmly on the floor.

Now using the proper breathing rhythm rock slowly backwards and forwards for one or two minutes. You will feel this in your inside thighs and back legs or hamstrings.

Phase 3

Maintaining the position, open your legs wider, keeping your feet turned inwards. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation lower your trunk on to your elbows. If you experience any difficulty in making this movement relax your hands on your lower back and gently rock up and down until the position is comfortable. You will feel this in your inside thighs and hamstrings (the back of your thighs).

Variation

If you are unable to attain this position, lie on your side with your buttocks against a wall and your knees drawn up to your chest. Roll on to your back and straighten your legs up the wall, take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation open your legs as wide as you can.

Try to keep your knees straight and, using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Exercise 4

Phase 1

Standing with your feet about 6 inches apart, bend your knees and lean forward, joining your hands together and resting them on your lower back.

Relax your neck and shoulders and take a deep inhalation. On the exhalation straighten one leg. You will feel this in the back of your thigh. Now repeat the exercise for the other leg.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, try to maintain this position, slowly straightening one leg at a time, for one to five minutes.

Phase 2

Bend both knees and take hold of your ankles. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation straighten both legs. Keeping your heels on the ground, lean your weight as far forward as you can and lift your buttocks.
Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Phase 3

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation place the palms of your hands on the floor and, keeping both legs straight, push your weight back as far as you can and lift your buttocks.

Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Variation

If you experience difficulty in practising any of the phases, lie on your side with your buttocks against the wall and your knees drawn up to your chest. Place a cushion behind your head and roll on to your back.

Now straighten your legs up the wall and, using the proper breathing rhythm and keeping your knees straight, extend your heels and try to maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Phase I

Take a step forward, bend your front knee and place your hands on the floor.

Now semi-straighten your front leg and slide your back knee backwards to the floor.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, gently rock backwards and forwards in this position for one or two minutes. Change legs and repeat.

You will feel this through the back of your front leg, and in the front thigh of your back leg.

Phase 2

Repeat the exercise slowly until you can straighten both legs and then, using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for a minute or two. Change legs and repeat.

Benefits

This exercise greatly improves the flexibility of your hips and the relaxation of the front thigh and hamstring muscles.

Phase I

Sit with your lower back firmly against the wall. Open your knees and bring the soles of your feet together. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation gently press one knee to the floor and massage the inside thigh muscle.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one or two minutes, now repeat for the other leg.

You will feel this in your hips, knees and inside thighs.

Benefits

This position tones the inside thigh and pelvic floor muscles and improves the flexibility of your hips and knees. It increases the circulation to your back and abdomen and improves the functioning of the kidneys and bladder. It also regulates menstruation and benefits the ovaries.

Phase 2

Holding your ankles push your knees open with your forearms. Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Phase 3

Keeping the same position with your knees open, take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation lean your trunk forward and rock gently further forwards until you can rest comfortably on your elbows.

Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes, intermittently tightening and relaxing your anal and pelvic floor muscles.

Phase I

Open your feet about 2 feet and squat, resting your weight on your hands with your elbows inside your knees and your heels raised. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation gently push your knees open with your elbows. You will feel this in your hips, knees, ankles, inside thighs and lower legs.

Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes.

Phase 2

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation push your knees open with your elbows and take your heels to the floor. Keep both feet firmly on the floor.

Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to five minutes, intermittently tightening and relaxing your anal and pelvic floor muscles.

Benefits

This position improves the flexibility of your hips and knees and strengthens your ankles, lower legs and lower back. It tones the pelvic floor and is highly recommended for constipation.

Shoulders and Spine

The spine is the central pillar of support for the central nervous system, the heart, the lungs and the digestive organs. It consists of a flexible cushioned pillar of 33 graduated bones or vertebrae that make up four equally opposing shallow curves.
The curves balance and counterbalance the weight of the head, chest and pelvis, and add to the versatility of the spine's movements.

The spine is held erect by the strength of the back muscles. When standing, the upper back muscles should always retain enough strength to keep the spine upright with the chest and shoulders open and relaxed.

The spine's joints are extremely flexible and are designed to allow twisting, side-bending, slight forward-bending and a wide range of back-bending. However, because the spine allows very little forward bending, this movement should always come from the hips and knees.

The spine exerts strength to maintain its inverted arch as the buttocks extend back and lift. This backward lifting movement lowers the front of the spinal column and maintains the strength and integrity of the lower back when bending forward.

Back bending is the true test of a healthy, flexible spine but this is only possible if the muscles of the belly, chest and shoulders are supple enough to allow the posture. Side-bending and twisting movements similarly test the suppleness of the belly.

Phase I

Stand nearly an arm's length from the wall and straighten your arms above your head in line with your shoulders. Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation push firmly from the base of your hands, arch your upper back, and rest your forehead against the wall. You will feel this through the front of your arms and trunk and should feel it in your upper back.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one or two minutes.

Phase 2

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation push firmly from the base of your hands, lift your head and arch your upper back, taking your breast bone to the wall. Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one or two minutes.
If you experience any sensation in your lower spine you are overextending
your lower back and under-extending your upper back.
You can change this by pushing your chest forward. Do not tolerate lower back pain, especially in this position.

Phase 3

Standing with your back towards the wall tighten your buttocks and arch backwards and place the palms of your hands against the wall.
Now keeping your buttocks tensed walk away from the wall and straighten your arms. Pull your shoulder blades together and hold for three or four breaths. Do not tolerate lower back pain in this position.

Benefits

This position improves the tone of your abdominal, chest and shoulder muscles. It strengthens your wrists, arms and back and greatly increases the flexibility of your spinal column.

It also opens the rib cage, increasing its flexibility and your breathing capacity. It is highly recommended for keeping your body alert and improving your strength, vitality and nervous system.

Phase I

Stand with your feet 4 feet apart. Point your right foot with the heel in line with the arch of your left foot. Turn your left foot half a turn inwards. Bend your right knee and reach out with your right hand and place it on your ankle.

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation straighten both your legs. Rest your left hand on your left hip and, pushing from your back foot, twist your left shoulder towards the ceiling.

Using the proper breathing rhythm maintain this position for one to two minutes, then repeat the other side. You should feel this in your inside thigh and side abdominal muscles.

Phase 2

Repeat the previous exercise, but take your hand from your hip and stretch your hand and arm upwards, trying to keep both shoulders in line with each other.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one or two minutes.

Benefits

This exercise tones the inside thigh and side-abdominal muscles, improves the flexibility of your upper spine and hip joints, strengthens the ankles and opens the rib cage and shoulders. It also improves breathing capacity and is recommended for relieving backache.

Lie on your back, bend your knees and, keeping both knees and feet together, rotate to the right from your hips and take your legs to the floor. Keep both feet together and hold your knees to the ground with your right hand.

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation extend your left arm below your shoulder line and, using the weight of your arm, rotate your shoulders and try to hold the back of both shoulders against the floor.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one or two minutes, then repeat the other side. You will feel this in your buttocks and shoulders.

Benefits

This position improves the flexibility of your upper spine, it opens your chest and shoulders and tones the buttocks and side-abdominal muscles. It is also recommended for relieving backache.

Head and neck

The head is balanced on the top of the spinal column. It is due to the equal pull from the muscles on all sides of the neck that the head is kept 'elevated'. Together the muscles and joints of the neck allow the head to rotate in line with each shoulder, bend sideways so that the ear rests on the shoulder, and bend forward and backwards.

Stiff neck muscles compress the vertebrae and pull the head off balance.

Their tensions are also transmitted across the top of the head and they are thus the main cause of headaches.

Phase 1

Lie on your back and lift your legs and feet towards the ceiling, supporting your back with your hands.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one to five minutes: you will feel this in your upper spine and neck.

Phase 2

Now do splits and drop one leg backwards and the other forwards.
Now take one foot over your head to the floor and try to keep your other leg pointing towards the ceiling. Maintain this position for two or three deep breaths and repeat for the other side.

Phase 3

Take both feet over your head to the floor keeping your legs straight. Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for a minute or two. You will feel this in your neck and the backs of your legs.

Phase 4

Now bend your knees to the floor one each side of each ear and straighten your arms behind your back. Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one to three minutes. You will feel this in your upper back and neck.

Benefits

These postures improve the flexibility of the neck. They relieve backache, strengthen the lower back, and improve circulation to the spine, thyroid, parathyroid, neck and chest part.

Phase 1

Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation lean your head and trunk to your left, keeping your chin tucked in. Try to get your left ear to touch your shoulder. You will feel this on the right side of your neck and shoulder.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, maintain this position for one to two minutes. Now repeat the other side.

Phase 2

Lift your head, straighten your back, relax your shoulders and pull your shoulder blades together.
Take a deep inhalation and on the exhalation take your head as far back as you can, projecting your jaw. You will feel this in your throat.

Using the proper breathing rhythm, try to maintain this position for a minute or two.

Phase 3

Standing with your shoulders relaxed and your head still tipped back, open your mouth and jaw as wide as you possibly can. Maintain this for about half a minute.

Benefits

This exercise tones the side-neck and throat muscles, and releases tension in your face and jaw.

DYNAMIC AND STATIC EXERCISE

A capacity for action and relaxation is vital for the movements of the bones and joints. Not only must the muscles be strong enough to move, they must also be relaxed enough to allow the movement.

There is no point in having a super-strong body that is too stiff to move, any more than a flexible relaxed body that doesn't have the strength for movement.

Strength, suppleness and stamina are the prerequisites for health and fitness and, combined with a flexible skeleton, they allow us to engage in all the varieties of activity that bring pleasure to our daily lives.

For those of you who do maintain a balanced programme of exercise, resistance to disease and infection, and prompt recovery if illness or injury do occur, will be much improved.
The body looks well, vitality is improved and relaxation and the ability to relax while active is vastly increased.

Here we look briefly at dynamic and static exercise before looking at specific types of exercise. Taken together, dynamic and static exercises cover all the activities and postures that improve the qualities of the musculoskeletal system and the other major systems that support the life of a human body.

STATIC EXERCISE

Static exercises involve the use of various postures whereby the relaxed weight of one part of the body stretches the soft tissues of another part.

For the body or any of its parts to be moved in any direction, the joints must be flexible and the various muscle groups must relax to allow the movement.

Static exercise gently stretches the muscle fibres and opens the body's joints, improving the muscles' ability to relax in action and the joints' ability to flex and extend.

• Static exercise is introspective and non-competitive.
• It allows you to examine and improve the suppleness of your muscles—the elastic quality that allows them to be stretched.
• It tones the muscles and restores them to the proper degree of tension suitable to a healthy condition.
• It improves the flexibility of the body's joints and in freeing the muscles and joints from stiffness and rigidity. It will vastly improve your body's range of movement.
• It realigns the body's structures and improves muscular resilience—the muscles' ability to return to their natural shape. It therefore has a profound effect upon your body's shape and posture.
• It reverses some major effects of aging, freeing the muscles and other soft tissues of the body from the residues of tension that have accumulated as a result of past physical and emotional traumas.
• By restoring the integrity of the muscles and joints and increasing their ability to function pleasurably through a wide range of movement, static exercise calms the nervous system.
• Static exercise improves circulation, both to the muscles—blood can flow more easily within a relaxed muscle—and from the muscles to the heart by developing the effectiveness of the muscles as pumps for returning the blood to the heart.
• Static exercise improves respiration, increasing the volume of air intake and reducing the breathing rate and consequently the wear and tear on the lungs.
• Static exercise improves digestion by relaxing and developing the movements of the diaphragm and the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.
• Static exercise tends to make the body feel lighter, more buoyant and adapt more easily to environmental change.
• Static exercise is a vital prerequisite for dynamic exercise.
When we wake from a good night's rest we stretch our arms and legs spontaneously to relieve them of stiffness. This is a perfect example of static exercise.
DYNAMIC EXERCISE
Dynamic exercises are active and outgoing and often competitive. They include all forms of activities that demand a degree of exertion, like sports, games, dance, gymnastics, martial arts, aerobics, isotonics and isometrics.
Different kinds of dynamic exercise produce quite different chemical changes in the muscles, and can even produce a 'one-sided development' by encouraging the strenuous activity of specific groups of muscles, consequently developing only part of the body.
From this point of view, dynamic exercises that engage the whole body equally and improve endurance are the most beneficial for all round health and fitness.
• Dynamic exercise improves the body's ability to remain active, it increases oxygen-debt tolerance (see page 25), and lowers the body's metabolic rate, thereby conserving energy resources.
Fatigue can be withstood for far longer periods and the body has a greater amount of energy to devote to leisure after a normal day's activity.
• In terms of energy input and output, the average human body is considered to be between 16 and 27 per cent efficient. Dynamic exercise can more than double this efficiency rating.
• Dynamic exercise increases the strength of the active muscles and joints and the strength and endurance of the heart.
• Dynamic exercise speeds up the delivery both of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and the venous return to the heart.
• During dynamic exercise the output of the heart can increase from a resting value of 5 litres of blood a minute to the maximum of 35 litres a minute obtained by trained athletes. With the increase in output per beat the heart rate lessens and this reduced number of beats saves the wear and tear on the heart.
• Dynamic exercise strengthens respiration, it improves the efficiency of the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the lungs and increases the number of red blood cells that carry the  oxygen in the blood.
• Dynamic exercise stimulates the appetite and the digestive system.
• Dynamic exercise improves the removal of the body's wastes via the digestive system, via bodily secretions and via the increase in respiration.
• Dynamic exercise improves our responses and, as the nervous and musculoskeletal systems become more coordinated, so mental and perceptual alertness is sharpened, nervous tension is released and emotional illness is averted.

EXERCISE AND NUTRITION

For those who maintain a regular system of exercise or training programme, or who regularly practise sports, games and athletics, the foods you eat must be sufficient in quality and quantity to meet the energy expenditure of your body.

During exercise, extra demands are placed upon the body's fuel stores and its reserves of fluids and nutrients are easily depleted.

Regular meals are especially important to your performance and these should contain plentiful amounts of the kinds of nutrients that sustain your particular activity.
 
For example, endurance sports like running and cycling need foods rich in carbohydrate and protein that can maintain energy by keeping the blood sugar level constant. This is important for both the activity of the brain and the activity of the muscles.

If the blood sugar level drops during exercise, loss of concentration and coordination results, you become prone to errors of judgment, and mental and physical fatigue develops.
In contrast, weight training demands food containing more tissue building elements like protein and vitamins. In order to develop the muscles weight training first breaks down muscle tissue, using them as an energy store.

The body then overcompensates when replacing this tissue,laying down larger amounts of muscle to meet the increasing requirements for strength.

Useful tips

The best sources of nutrients are always natural foods. In this form other elements are also ingested in the meal, assisting the absorption and potency of the regular nutrients.
 
Refined foods are often digested very slowly and this can drain your body's resources.

Do not eat for about three hours before exercising. During exercise the blood supply to the stomach ceases and digestion is suspended. Any undigested food in the gut will just stagnate, and may even make you feel sick.

As protein takes longer to digest than other nutrients, any meal taken before exercise should be rich In carbohydrate and low in protein. However, make sure that this is balanced by taking in more protein in the meal eaten after your exercise.

As the muscles burn energy during activity, so the body gets hotter and sweats in order to cool itself down. If adequate fluid is unavailable, the body overheats and its performance deteriorates. Fluid is thus especially important in the diet, and extra fluid should be taken to provide for any extra activity and to replace what is used.

To do this the daily fluid intake should be increased gradually and a little fluid, like fruit juice with water, can be taken about half an hour before exercising and if possible sipped during exercise.

• Fresh fruit and vegetables, eaten either raw or lightly cooked, are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Obesity

Obesity comes from the Latin word obesus meaning 'having made oneself fat by overeating'. This does not always strictly apply in adolescence though; fatness is often due to 'puppy fat' that disappears with maturity.

There are also some individuals who are prone to obesity through the misguided nutritional values of their household. True obesity is actually a form of malnutrition caused mainly by the eating of fatty, sugary, high-energy foods that are converted to body fat due to the lack of physical exercise.

The health hazards of obesity are numerous, and some of them are serious. They include poor respiration, fatigue, bronchitis, and serious heart and circulatory diseases.

Obesity has reached such proportions in the Western world that every year some one-third of its population goes on a diet. Every school has its share of overweight students and it is not uncommon to find amongst them individuals who eat merely to relieve their emotional anxiety rather than their hunger.

Quite often this instigates a situation where the more obese the individual gets the more anxious they get about their appearance and the more they stuff themselves. This is often accelerated for the unhappy few by the taunts and remarks of their colleagues.

Sometimes obesity can extend from adolescence to adult life–fat children tend to grow into fat adults– and in extreme cases professional advice and reassurance is well worthwhile.
Obesity is a major public health problem and experts in medicine, biochemistry, nutrition, psychiatry and public health all agree that it should be dealt with in adolescence through proper exercise and nutritional advice.

Changing to better eating habits can prevent and curb obesity. If this is coupled with a programme of consistent exercise that slowly increases the level of attainment, this will help to give a regular reduction in weight.

Ideally adolescence is a time to enjoy the benefits of a maturing body. However, common to adolescents are a number of complaints that if given prompt and proper attention can be alleviated with minimum of distress.

Acne

Acne is a skin disease common amongst teenagers and sometimes persisting into the early twenties. It is characterised by spots on the face, neck and trunk.

Estimates suggest that three out of every four adolescents are affected by it and that it is more common among males. Females however can generally develop acne earlier than males because of their earlier onset of puberty.

Acne is common in adolescence because the hormonal changes that occur at this time affect the skin. It is caused by minute skin particles that detach from the lining of a hair follicle and block the follicle and adjacent sebaceous gland.

This prevents the gland from secreting the natural grease ‘sebum’, which keeps your skin elastic and water proof.

Treatment

For the more severe forms of acne and its effects, medical advice is well worthwhile and often effective. Frequent washing reduces the bacteria on the skin and thus the risk of infection.

Sunlight also aids recovery, especially when the upper back is affected and a change to better eating habits, fresh air, exercise, relaxation and proper sleep will all help to prevent and alleviate this complaint.

Too much chocolate, cocoa, coffee, sugar, spicy foods, fats and nuts are all thought to worsen this condition.

Anaemia

Anaemia is defined as a reduction below normal in the haemoglobin content of the blood. Haemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in the red blood cells which transports oxygen from the lungs to all tissues throughout the body; it also gives the blood its bright red appearance.

Because of the rapid growth and the increase in the body's need for iron, this condition is common in adolescence, especially in females at the onset of menstruation.

The symptoms of anaemia are usually paleness, tiredness, faintness and headaches, irritability, and loss of appetite

Treatment

Once the cause of the deficiency has been established, increasing the amount of iron in your diet is the usual remedy.
Iron is present in meat, especially liver and kidneys, also especially bran and wheatgerm,  in shellfish and eggs, in whole grains, in watercress, in legumes, especially lima and soya beans, in lentils, in peanuts and tahini, and in gooseberries, apricots and dried fruit.

Fainting and giddiness

This is a transient lack of consciousness due to a momentary loss of blood to the brain. Brief losses of consciousness are common to both sexes during puberty and, although more frequent in girls, most adolescents have one or two faints.
The general cause seems to be a combination of alterations in the blood pressure and sudden changes in posture, like from sitting to standing, especially in a close environment.

Treatment

The most immediate form of treatment is to lie down in order to enable the blood to flow more readily to the brain. Recovery is accelerated if the legs and feet are raised above the head.

The weakness that usually accompanies recovery disappears with rest.

Medical examination might be necessary in order to establish the cause and long-term treatment could include more fresh air, proper exercise and a change in diet to more nutritious foods.

Dental decay

Owing to the body's rapid growth and the heavy demands therefore made upon its resources, dental decay often becomes more obvious during adolescence.

Treatment

Adequate nourishment, including foods that are rich in calcium, such as nuts, seeds, milk, cheese, eggs and sardines with bones, helps to prevent decay, and you should avoid sugar, sweets and sugary drinks and foods that help to promote dental plaque.

Regular brushing of your teeth (night and morning) and regular visits to your dentist are also most important.

Stress

'Keep your head cool and your feet warm' has been recommended by generations of physicians as an elementary rule for keeping healthy and fit, while 'hot-headedness' has always been associated with stress and irrational thought and action, mood swings and physical and mental ill health.

It is now widely recognised that many of our Western diseases are actually the result of the body's inability to cope with the stresses and strains of a rapid and competitive lifestyle.

As you approach adulthood it is inevitable that you have to face up to these problems. and learning how to cope with them is of great value to your health.

However, as well as a great variety of stress-related diseases, there are also a large number of crimes, accidents and injuries inflicted and suffered daily as an indirect result of actions and decisions made while under stress.

Stress is generally accepted as having three phases. The first phase is known as the 'alarm reaction'; this is a response by the nervous system that initiates a simultaneous series of physiological events that prepare the body for 'fight or flight'.
The second phase is known as 'resistance and adaptation'; at this stage stress is neutralised by the body as it resists and counters the situation, or adapts to it.

These first two phases are quite natural and normal to our daily lives as we cope with the events that alarm or upset us, either by resisting them or adapting to them.

Indeed, this kind of stress can be beneficial, arising as it does from the stimulation of new physical and intellectual challenges, romance and the excitement of other activities that spice everyday life.

The third phase of stress, however, is quite often not beneficial. This occurs when the body fails to neutralise the condition, whereupon a state of exhaustion then follows.

This usually happens when the situation that provokes the stress is severe or persists for a period of time; it is this kind of stress that weakens the body and provokes abnormal reactions.

Hatred, bigotry, anger, guilt, fear, depression and grief are some of the characteristics associated with stress and stressful personalities.

The effects of stress

Physically the 'fight or flight' response increases the heart rate and blood pressure, increases the respiration rate and constricts the airways. Breathing becomes shallow, saliva and other gastric juices are inhibited and there is a general increase in the tone (state of contraction) of the skeletal muscles, especially those of the face, throat, shoulders, abdomen and pelvic floor. In this state the body is prepared literally to fight or runaway.

Persistent and severe stress, however, can lead to more permanent conditions of the heart and circulation, like chronic high blood pressure, of the lungs and respiration, like asthma, of the digestive system, like chronic constipation or diarrhoea, and of the musculoskeletal system, like stiffness and inflexibility. And these are just a few of the physical disorders associated with stress.

Causes and cures

Extreme physical and mental exertion, lack of sleep, harassment, isolation and social overcrowding and poverty can all induce stress. In general, though, stress is caused by extremes— by either too much or too little of almost anything.

Fresh air, mild exercise and periods of rest all help to restore the body to a more balanced state. To reverse the effects of stress abdominal breathing is essential, relaxation techniques like self-hypnosis and meditation, and stretching exercises, are all also very good for regulating the heart rate and blood pressure, restoring abdominal breathing, regulating the digestive system, relaxing the muscles and restoring flexibility to the joints.