The risk of high blood pressure increases with age, but getting some exercise can make a big difference. And for hypertensives exercise can help you control it. Regular physical activity makes the heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. If the heart can work less to pump, the force on the arteries decreases, lowering one's blood pressure. Becoming more active can lower one's systolic blood pressure by an average of 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). That's as good as some blood pressure medications. For some people, getting some exercise is enough to reduce the need for blood pressure medication. But to encourage exercise is not easy! There were two factors that made the task difficult: 1. We, ourselves, do not exercise. 2. The people in our community believe their walks home are considered exercise. Problem 1: We, ourselves, do not exercise. Even the simple task of going up the LRC 4th floor makes us gasp for air and none of us 8 can run the to save our lives. It was a real struggle to make the whole" change comes from our self" a reality. But we did. Because our degree depends on it. So we force ourselves to get our butts moving. Problem 2: The people in our community believe their walks home are considered exercise. We concede that they are correct. But walks are not enough for our hypertensive patients. And we all know the boredom we usually associate with the word exercise. So we thought, how do we make it fun for them? Solution: ZUMBA! Aerobic activity can be an effective way to control high blood pressure. Zumba means moving fast and having fun! Zumba is generally an hour-long class and the great thing about it is that you can pick your intensity level because there are several options to choose from in each track. Zumba is fun, fun, fun! We made sure that the people in our community can relate to the songs/beat. We led the Zumba too! They saw us jumping and shaking and gyrating and making hilarious "waka-waka" steps. They heard how loud our laughters were, encouraging them to join in the fun. We conducted the Zumba every Saturday's and Sunday's. Everyone was invited, especially the hypertensives. The turn-out was a great success. Not only did we fight hypertension. We also established a fun strong friendship with our community. Watch out world, there's now a new breed of Zumba dancers in New Barili! Pageant article: MR. and MS. CLEAN EARTH 2016 - A pageant for the earth Our project manager thought of this pageant as a platform for her advocacy, keeping the environment clean and healthy! Our theme was "Malinis na Kapaligiran, Para sa Abot Kamay na Kalusugan." We've already tried to lecture. We've already tried to conduct a summer camp. We've already tried reaching out. And we saw one thing in common, kids love to learn! We found out that New Barili elementary school has never had a pegeant for the kids, ever! Our initial concern of disinterest from the kids was immediately replaced with surprise with how participative and competitive they were. The youngsters oozed with confidence on stage. All of them were very entertaining. We had a production and introduction portion where they can showcase their finesse in dancing and their confidence in introducing them selves. Followed by, probably our favorite portion, the talent segment. Some delivered sweet short poems, some sang, some danced, there was a cute little tough guy who even rapped! You can never underestimate kids, even when they live up in the mountains of New Barili and have zero experience with public speaking or performance, The advocacy became more apparent in the Q and A. Every single one of the 16 contestants has prepared well thought of interpretation of the theme. We were graced by the presence of Doc Maita and the municipal nurse as two of our judges. They verbalized how fun and successful the event was. Other than learning about taking care of our planet, the kids gained so much experience and confidence. They were all good sport and made better friends of each other. We can't wait for Mr and Ms Clean Earth 2017!
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MissionWe are all for a healthier New Barili! Archives
July 2018
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