Transcription
As someone with extensive experience working with different patients, I truly understand how serious and frightening memory loss and cognitive decline can be, especially as we age. Every day in the hospital, I encounter people who become scared as soon as they notice the first signs of aging, like forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, or brain fog. These aren't just minor annoyances. They're a real threat to quality of life, independence, and mental health.
Medical science offers various pharmaceutical solutions. But today, I want to introduce you to a method that is simple, accessible, and most importantly, scientifically proven to be effective, and it's truly amazing. We're talking about five unique exercises developed by a Japanese doctor named Yoshia Hakawa. These exercises aren't just a collection of folk wisdom.
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Their effectiveness in activating cerebral blood flow and creating new neural connections has been confirmed by research in the field of neurohysiology. Have you ever wondered why when we're anxious we unconsciously rub our palms together or fidget with our fingers? Or why massaging the hands and wrists is so calming and helps with concentration? These aren't just simple random movements. From a physiological perspective and more importantly from the viewpoint of Eastern traditional medicine, [music] the strongest energy channels are concentrated exactly in our palms and fingers which are connected to all parts of the body and above all to the brain.
Imagine that our entire hand is like a control panel for the most complex biomput. And the fingers are the most important and sensitive buttons on this control panel. Through them, not only blood but also vital energy flows, which in the east is called chi. When this energy becomes stagnant and blocked in the hands channels, it immediately affects our mental health. Brain fog shows up as trouble remembering things and being easily distracted.
All right, let's move past these metaphors. Let's get into precise science. We've long known that there's something called the homunculus in the cerebral cortex. It's an imaginary representation of our body where each part of the body is assigned a specific area in the cerebral cortex. Now the area responsible for the hand and especially the thumb is disproportionately large compared to the areas for other parts of the body. This is direct evidence of how much importance the brain places on the information coming from our fingers. Every movement, every touch is a strong neural pulse sent to the brain, making the brain work and activating neural connections. You could say our fingers are like antennas through which the brain scans and understands the world. And the more delicate, complex, and varied the work of these antennas is, the more signals the brain receives, the more actively it works. And as a result, it develops further.
Now, let's take a look at blood circulation. The tips of our fingers are anatomically a unique place. Here the arteries and veins meet and form special complexes called arteriovenenous anastmosis. [music] These are complex vascular networks that play a key role in microirculation or fine blood flow and temperature regulation. By stimulating the fingertips, we significantly affect the entire circulatory system and send a special wave toward the heart and more importantly toward the head. Improving this microirculation in the fingers directly leads to an increase in oxygenrich blood flow to the cerebral cortex. And for the brain, what is fresh oxygenrich blood like? It's life itself. clarity of thought, speed of reaction, and of course, the reliability of memory.
The distinguished Japanese doctor we're talking about is someone whose approach completely transformed my own ideas about preventing cognitive disorders. His name is Dr. Yoshia Hakawa. You should know the title of his book, How to Strengthen Your Brain with Simple Finger Movements. This title isn't a metaphor. It's a direct practical guide based on a deep understanding of human evolutionary physiology. Dr. Hakawa didn't discover America. He brilliantly classified what had been known for centuries [music] and turned it into a practical path.
Dr. Hasakawa says that this finger which strongly distinguishes us from other mammals and its ability for opposition that is the thumb touching the tips of the other fingers has enabled humans to bring about the technological revolution. From a neurohysiological perspective the thumb is connected to vast areas of the cerebral cortex. Dr. Hasakawa says that by keeping the thumb active, we can maintain brain activity at almost the same level as in youth and not only delay dementia in old age, but in some cases eliminate it entirely. He has designed a simple yet incredibly effective guaranteed program for the hands that doesn't require any special equipment and can be done anytime anywhere. This is a targeted stimulation which according to him and confirmed by many of his patients increases blood flow to the brain, [music] activates neural networks and serves as the most powerful prevention against cognitive disorders.
The first exercise is to sit upright on a chair. Let your hands hang down at your sides with your elbows close to your body. Stretch your forearms forward. Now put both hands in the rock position just like in the children's game. rock paper scissors, but open your thumbs upward. Now, with a slow and steady exhale, just as slowly and with focus, bend your thumbs at the first joint. Bend them as much as possible as if you're trying to reach the base of your finger. You should feel a gentle stretch. Then, with the same slow and steady inhale, straighten your thumbs back. Repeat this movement 10 times simultaneously with both hands. What are we doing here? We are individually applying pressure to that important thumb joint and sending a targeted pulse or signal to the motor cortex of the brain. The slow rhythm and controlled breathing calm the nervous system further and improve the blood's oxygen delivery.
The second exercise is to sit upright on a chair. Let your arms hang at your sides with your elbows close to your torso. Turn your palms upward toward the ceiling. Now with a slow exhale, bend your thumbs not from the joint but from their base. Bring them into your palm and try to touch the tip of your thumb to the base of your little finger. This is an important point and also with a slow exhale return to the starting position. Repeat this 10 times. If you do it correctly, you should feel a pleasant stretch and stimulation in the palm area at the point corresponding to the third joint of your thumb. This stimulates not only the finger but also the median nerve.
The next exercise is one of the key exercises for sitting up straight. Keep your palms open, fingers straight, and the backs of your hands facing up. Now start walking with the tip of your thumb touching the tip of your thumb to the tip of your index finger. Apply gentle and focused pressure. Then move to the tip of your middle finger, then the ring finger, and finally the little finger. We've moved forward. Now we go back. Little finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger. This is one cycle. Do five of these cycles simultaneously with both hands. Here we're not only engaging the thumb, but also all the other fingers, creating a complex sequence of pulses that serves as excellent gymnastics for the brain, improving interaction between the two hemispheres and coordination.
What is the third exercise? This exercise is designed for the independent functioning of the brain hemispheres, which is a very powerful tool for creating new neural connections. Sit upright on a chair. Let your arms hang down at your sides with your elbows close to your torso. Open your palms. Now you have a task. First, your right hand should show paper. That means your right palm is open and your left hand shows rock, which is a closed fist. Then switch their positions. Your right hand becomes rock. Your left hand is paper. This also creates a cycle that only consists of two position changes, but it needs to be repeated 20 times and most importantly at a sufficient speed. Hakawa recommended that you try to focus on the difference between the movements of your left and right hands. Your initial attempts might cause confusion, but that's exactly a sign that your brain has stepped out of its comfort zone and started forming new connections.
For some extra stimulation, here's a one to two exercise that's a bit more complex than the previous one and takes coordination to a new level. Sit up straight. Keep your palms open. At the same time, with different hands, we do rock and paper in a rhythmic one, two count. On the count of one, one hand makes a fist. With the other hand, on the count of two, we switch quickly. At first glance, it might seem simple, but for the brain, it's actually a relatively complex task. Don't rush. reach clarity and you'll feel that the neural pathways are opening up.
Another exercise is to make a fist with both hands. But in your right fist, the thumb shouldn't be hidden. It should rest on top of the index finger. But in your left fist, the thumb should be hidden. It should be covered by the other fingers. Now say two and open your fists. Again, make a fist paying attention to the different positions of the thumbs. Open on two and close on one. This movement strengthens your attention and the brain's ability to manage two different tasks at the same time.
And finally, the last exercise is massaging the hegu point. This point has been known in acupuncture for thousands of years. It is located on the back of the hand in the muscular triangle between the thumb and index finger. In eastern medicine, this point is considered one of the most important for blocking illness. stimulating it activates vital energy, relieves headaches, improves blood flow to the head and enhances mental clarity. Dr. Hakawa from a modern perspective confirms that by massaging this point, we can achieve optimal blood flow to both hemispheres of the brain. Massage it with the thumb of your other hand. Press it and make small circular or pressing movements for 5 seconds. The pressure should be noticeable and slightly painful, but not sudden. Five repetitions are enough. After that, do the same thing with your other hand, and your memory and mental clarity will be your reliable companions for many years.
Thank you for staying with me until the end of the video. Please hit the like button, leave a comment, tell me which country and city you're watching this video from, and check out these videos for more information. Until the next video, take