5 Ways to Make Hospitals Better

I’m happy to present this guest post by Ben Gerber, the author of Minimalist Muscle, a blog about muscle development and minimalism (two important parts of a yoga practice). Ben is a minimalist, lifter, blogger, and the husband of one of my best friends. He is now also a cancer survivor. You can learn more about his life and ideas on his blog.

Five Ways to Make Patients Healthier and Happier at the Hospital

Until recently, I'd been fortunate enough to have never stayed in a hospital overnight as a patient. My lucky streak ended this month with a week-long stay. While I was very happy with the treatment I received in this specific hospital, I came away from the experience with a lot of thoughts on how hospital stays could be a much healthier and happier experience. Here are the first five that came to mind.

1. Increase the number of healthy food options available. After not eating for nearly a week, I was excited to receive the hospital menu for my first meal. I had no delusions that hospital food was going to be fine cuisine, but I was shocked at the amount of junk food on the menu. Suffice it to say, the healthiest thing on the menu that day was apple sauce and cream of wheat (both of which I ordered). How hard would it be to add a banana or apple to the menu?
2. Reduce the sodium content of all foods. I like salty food as much as the next guy (I have a weakness for Kettle Chips), but much of what I was served was so salty that it was almost inedible. Any dish that sounded potentially healthy ended up having what I suspect to be an entire day's worth of sodium.
3. Disclose the nutritional value of all foods. It amazes me that fast food and chain restaurants are required to state the nutritional content of their food items, but hospitals are not. After all, you don't go to McDonald's expecting to be healthier after you leave, but you certainly expect hospitals to do everything they can to make you healthier during your stay. If the point of nutritional disclosure regulation is to avoid misleading consumers, the better target is hospitals.
4. Have a designated walking loop. According to my doctor, getting on my feet and walking was one of the best things I could do to recover from my surgery. The problem was that there wasn't any safe place to walk, particularly considering my frail state. The hospital hallways were always bustling, and I was almost plowed over several times.
5. Reduce the amount of junk in hospital rooms. Hospital rooms are tiny and difficult to navigate. I recognize that space is a matter of economics, but the existing area could be utilized much more efficiently. For example, I did not need the massive bedside table. Nor did I need the large rolling food table during the majority of my stay, since I couldn't eat (this coincided with the time in which it was most painful to move around, making the food table particularly difficult to navigate around).

Yoga: a minimalist's path

I love the simplicity and minimalism of the Ashtanga yoga practice and just wrote about it in this guest post for my friend Ben’s blog, Minimalist Muscle.

I discuss the 7 reasons why Ashtanga yoga is a minimalist's gym (I’m sure I left some things out so please add to this list if you think of anything!):

1. Yoga minimizes equipment: The only equipment you really need is your body. No shoes and no socks. A mat is nice but not even necessary. No need for weight machines – your body provides all the weight and resistance you need.
2. Yoga simplifies food consumption: The practice of yoga brings greater awareness to the food you put into your body. People become drawn towards simple, healthy, whole, vegetarian foods that nourish the body.
3. Yoga minimizes lost time and money: While I may not always have the hours to devote to the physical practice, the practice of yoga helps simplify life habits (minimizing loss of precious time and money), including: 
• What I eat
• The time I go to bed
• The relationships I nurture
• The way I socialize
• The things I buy
• The projects I invest time and energy in
• My professional interests and direction
4. Yoga turns you into your own teacher/trainer/coach: In the Ashtanga yoga style, everybody learns the postures and the correct order in which to do them. This means you can practice anytime and anywhere (i.e. hotel room floor when traveling). 
5. Yoga develops functional muscle: The Ashtanga yoga practice will help you build muscle while also increasing flexibility... the ideal combination for a healthy, lithe, functional body.
6. Yoga de-clutters unproductive thoughts: The physical intensity of the yoga practice makes your mind focused (it’s hard to think about anything besides breathing when your muscles are shaking, sweat is dripping, and you’re trying to hold a certain position). Thoughts, worries, anxieties, stresses that usually clutter your mind are minimized and silenced.
7. Yoga is a traveling gym: The Ashtanga yoga community is a global, growing community of people with shared interests, purpose, and goals. In many cities all of the world, you will find an Ashtanga teacher that offers the same practice…. it’s a traveling gym that meets you wherever you are.

Simplify simplify simplify

I love this sign that hangs over a desk in the hospital...

But why is this so hard to practice in real life?

I've been trying to simplify my yoga practice by moving away from using props (blocks, blankets, etc). Some days props are nice, but most days I want to just be me and my mat (even if that means messier poses or imperfect alignment).

Part of me also thinks that an uncluttered mat helps me keep an uncluttered mind (sort of like how I can't concentrate when sitting at a cluttered desk!)

Lessons from Gandhi

“You may have occasion to possess or use material things, but the secret of life lies in never missing them.” ~Gandhi 

Really loved this Zen Habits blog post about lessons we can learn from Gandhi... I think these are also practiced through yoga.

They include the following:

1. Accumulate little (Gandhi had fewer than 10 possessions when he died)
2. Eat simple food (Gandhi ate vegetarian and local food out of a small wooden bowl)
3. Dress simply (for comfort and purpose, not to impress) 
4. Lead a simple, stress-free life (Gandhi meditated daily and kept his life simple while being a powerful world leader) 
5. Let your life be your message (Gandhi spread his message by the way he lived his day-to-day life)

The minimalism of no addictions

I thought these “simplicity living tips” from the Becoming Minimalist blog were excellent.

In light of my coffee detox, this one is particularly relevant to me right now:

"Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. Refuse to be a slave to anything: coffee, cigarettes, soda, television, chocolate, alcohol… "

Even though the denial of coffee over the past few mornings has left me tight, tired, and bored during practice, I’m sticking with morning tea for the time being.

I’m also continuing my sugar-weaning (those dark chocolate-covered almonds waiting for me in the kitchen make this nearly impossible).