Monthly Archives: September 2012

Rhinocort, Pulmicort, Budesonide, Asthma Drug May Stunt Growth Permanently

Just a few hours ago I was looking through the MSNBC website and I found a very interesting article about height which I wanted to post on here because it is clearly very relevant to what we are looking at.

The link to the article is found HERE. Again I will highlight the parts of the article which I felt is the most important to note.

Asthma drug may stunt growth permanently

By Maggie Fox, NBC News

An inhaled drug commonly used to treat children with asthma cuts about half an inch off their height permanently, researchers reported on Monday.

But the good news is that the stunting effect doesn’t get worse over time, the researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. They said doctors can work with parents to reduce the dose of the drug as much as possible to minimize the effects.

The drug is called budesonide and is marketed under several brand names, including Rhinocort and Pulmicort. It is very effective at controlling serious asthma, which affects an estimated 6 million U.S. children and millions more adults. So the researchers don’t recommend taking kids off the drug if they need it.

A big study done more than a decade ago showed the drug was safe and very effective but doctors noted at the time that the kids in the study were about half an inch shorter if they got budesonide instead of other asthma treatments. The new study, presented at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria, shows the effect may be permanent.

“This was surprising because in previous studies, we found that the slower growth would be temporary, not affecting adult height,” said Dr. Robert Strunk of Washington University in St. Louis, who worked on the study.

“It clarifies that they do not eventually catch up as they age or fall further behind their peers,” added Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The original study included more than 1,000 children aged 5 to 12 who got either budesonide, a non-steroid drug called nedocromil, or a placebo or sham treatment. William Kelly of the University of New Mexico and colleagues tracked down 943 of the original children, now adults. The children who got budesonide were still, on average, just about half an inch shorter.

In the original study, kids got a dose of 400 micrograms. Studies since have shown doctors can cut this dose in half and still control asthma, although kids who get even this lower dose are still just under half an inch shorter than children getting different treatments.

“This suggests that finding the minimum dose required to control each child’s asthma could help mitigate any potential effects on height,” Kelly said in a statement.

“If a child is not growing as they should, we may reduce their steroid dose,” agreed Strunk. “But we think that the half-inch of lowered adult height must be balanced against the well-established benefit of inhaled corticosteroids in controlling persistent asthma. We will use the lowest effective dose to control symptoms to minimize concerns about effects on adult height.”

Kinopi Dress Shoes, Elevator Shoes, ISKD, Hobbit Town All Found In Seoul, South Korea

It appears that with the last article I wrote about the obsession with height and appearance by the Koreans, I wanted to go a little farther to show what has been developed in recent years to fulfill the need and desire by Koreans to grow taller (or at least look taller).

The has been an ENTIRE sub-economy that has been created for this type of cosmetic improvement, where even surgery is offered now.

In the article below the new distraction osteogenesis technique of  intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor (ISKD). From the article it states…

“An ISKD is a rod that is inserted into the leg and gradually extends in response to normal movements. Because the ISKD is inserted inside the leg, patients avoid scarring and risks of infection typically associated with external pins and wires. ”

The link the article is taken from is located HERE. I will highlight the parts which I felt was the most important

To Korean men, every inch counts

‘I used to use two or three height increasers at the same time … You can’t imagine how tiring it is.’ – Jeong Nam-jin

May 24,2012

Jeong Nam-jin, a 31-year-old bachelor living in Doksan-dong, western Seoul, has been rocking Nike Air Force 1 mid-tops for the past three years. He’s a maniac for the classic kicks, but the real reason he sports the off-white shoes is because there are few other choices that allow him to sneak in an extra few inches in height.

“I’ve been trying so many different dress shoes and sneakers, but this is the best pair I can insert a layer of height-increasing insoles into,” said Jeong, who is 162 centimeters (5 feet, 3 inches) tall – 12 centimeters shorter than the average Korean man.

“If you pick the wrong pair of shoes like low-tops, it’s hard to insert the height increasers. You can still insert them, but it’s impossible to walk around,” added Jeong, who’s been using a variety of padding for over eight years.

The sale of height-increasing insoles has been rising steadily in Korea, with the expanding market leading companies to sell dress and casual shoes with the elevated padding already stitched in. This trend has enabled shorter men to stand as much as five to six inches taller without showing how.

And elevated shoes are just one solution to height insecurities.

Distraction osteogenesis – the process of splitting a long bone into two in order to extend it through consolidation – was originally used as a medical procedure to restructure skeletal deformities.

One method that involves an intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor (ISKD) was developed specifically for dwarfs. An ISKD is a rod that is inserted into the leg and gradually extends in response to normal movements. Because the ISKD is inserted inside the leg, patients avoid scarring and risks of infection typically associated with external pins and wires.

The surgery, which costs up to 50 million won ($43,000), allows patients to gain between five and six centimeters in height. It takes up to two years to recover from the surgery and if there are complications, a patient might never again walk or run. Even after full recovery, physical sports are discouraged.

Yet the limb lengthening surgery is still viewed as an option by some Korean men looking to boost up their height. One thriving clinic, New Born Orthopedics in Sinwol-dong, western Seoul, said most of its patients undergoing surgery are motivated by appearance.

“Eight or nine out of 10 men undergoing surgery are doing so not because of deformities or disabilities, but because they want to become taller,” a counselor at the clinic said. “The thing is that they aren’t even extremely short. They are around 170 centimeters tall.”

Surgically extending leg bones is certainly an extreme path, but the desire to become taller is a widespread phenomenon. For Jeong, the Air Force 1s with outsoles an inch thick and room for padded insoles were an easy, effective and safe solution.

“Back when I was young, I used two or three height increasers at the same time, but I don’t do that anymore,” he said. “You can’t imagine how tiring it is.”

Jeong said he was insecure about his short stature when he was in his 20s, but he now feels comfortable about his height and his use of padded insoles.

The most embarrassing moments were when I had to take off my shoes and sit on the ground when eating out with my friends and colleagues. I went to the bathroom first and pulled out all the height increasers so that no one would see that I used all these weird things,” Jeong recalled.

“I’m not proud of my height increasers, but now I’m not ashamed of using them anymore because everyone talks about kinopi these days.”

Kinopi, which translates to “height increasing,” refers to shoes with padded insoles stitched in. A few types of kinopi shoes were manufactured in the ’90s and early 2000s, but in recent years they have become common store items.

In the media, the shoes are often mentioned by vertically challenged comedians and boy band members as they poke fun at themselves.

Famous TV show host No Hong-chul often wears 15-centimeter heels on television. He eventually began selling this unique style of elevator shoes and numerous height-increasing insoles on his Web site.

“Shoes with moderate heels between three and five centimeters are the best-selling fashions, but some order extreme products inspired by No,” said a customer service official from No’s Web site.

Other celebrities like Rain and Jang Dong-gun, who are taller than 180 centimeters, also wear kinopi dress shoes.

And as demand has increased, supply has followed suit. Entrepreneurs Kwon Myeong-il and Lim Byeong-jo, who are both more diminutive than the average Korean man, launched their own online shopping malls dedicated to men shorter than 170 centimeters. Kwon said he always had a hard time finding clothes that fit while Lim said he was discouraged when he was forced to quit ballet because of his short stature.

Both shopping malls – Hobbit Town run by Lim and Short Men run by Kwon – now have 100,000 members and make about 20 billion won ($1.7 million) in annual sales. The two shopping malls offer fashion items from A to Z, but the most popular are elevator shoes and height-increasing insoles.

Kim Jong-kyung, another entrepreneur who sells elevator shoes online, said the market has grown significantly over the past few years. He started to sell shoes online in 2004.

“Half of them were ordinary shoes and half of them were elevator shoes, but I saw increasing demand for elevator shoes. I finally decided to sell only elevator shoes from 2006 onward,” said Kim, who runs the online shopping mall Gudumaru.

“When I first started the business, just a couple of elevator shoes were available, which is starkly different from now. Sales soared remarkably around 2008 and the market has gotten a lot bigger.

“I believe the market still has high potential. Once you start to wear kinopi shoes, you will never come down.”

Indeed, coming down may prove tough for Korean men, who live in a society in which height and appearance are viewed as success-making qualities.

A man surnamed Kim was turned down by a matchmaking company because his 158-centimeter stature is far shorter than that of the average Korean man. Humiliated, Kim filed a petition and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea recommended the matchmaking company revise its rules regarding height when accepting male members.

And even when short men like Kim are allowed to join matchmaking services, the companies say these people have fewer chances of winning over the hearts of their dates, even if they pay millions of won.

“You know, men these days are really tall and women prefer tall guys over shorties, so he will have fewer chances of going on dates with women even if he joins the club,” said a counselor at a matchmaking company. 

Many single women are looking for tall future spouses, according to a survey by matchmaking company Gayeon. The group conducted a survey in 2008 and asked 583 single women about the desirable height of their future husbands. Forty percent said they wanted their husbands to be between 180 and 185 centimeters, while 32 percent said 175-180 centimeters. Just 13 percent said 170-175 centimeters. 

The average height of Korean men was 174 centimeters as of 2010, the tallest among Asian males. But many of them still seem to want more.

Psychology professor Hwang Sang-min at Yonsei University said one characteristic of Koreans makes them height-obsessed.

“Koreans tend to base their identities on their appearances. And they always want to catch up with others,” Hwang said.

But is there a link between one’s success and height? Research conducted by Anne Case and Christina Paxson, professors from Princeton University, found in 2008 that four inches of height was correlated with a 10 percent increase in income. Similar research was conducted in Korea by Park Gi-seong, a professor of economics at Sungshin Women’s University, who researched 1,548 male employees who were in their 30s and 40s last year and found that hourly wage increased 15 percent per centimeter.

Whether the statistics are simply coincidence or causation rather than correlation, Korean men aren’t taking a chance. Kinopi sales are feeling the benefits.

By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr ]

South Koreans Treat Being Taller As A Fashion Craze With Height Increase Clinics

I somehow found this link to a video which talks about the height obsession seen in the South Korean society and culture . Link HERE

I tried embedding the video onto this page but it never seemed to load so you will have to click the link to see the video which is an excerpt from ABC News.

Personally this video was very influential for me since I live in the city of Seoul currently. I can tell you that if you go to any street sidewalk in one of the major shopping areas like Myeondong, Dongdaemun, or Namdaemun that you will see height increase insoles sold out in the open by sidewalk vendors. The insoles can range form regular insoles used for medical reasons being only a few millimeters in extra height to insoles being over 1.5 inches in padding height.

I have seen on TV that male TV stars and pop singers admit on national tv that they wear lifts or add height increase insoles to their shoes. In the US, you really try to avoid talking about this type of thing, since it is not socially accepted to say that you are trying to so hard to look better. In South Korea, it is acceptable to state publicly that you are not attractive/ good looking for others and yourself. The people in this country think that by using criticism that people can be shamed and fell bad about themselves enough to want to take action on their appearance and improve themselves.

On the video, they talk about what is supposed to be a “magic shoe” that has an insole that makes Korean men taller in a discreet way.

From the video, it turns out that there are “Growth Taller Clinics” all around Seoul that I didn’t even know about. Parents are actually actively pushing their kids to these clinics because they fear that their children won’t find a good job or have a wife/husband if they are too short.

In the clinics, the kids are put through certain exercises, many of which are really strange and probably created without any real proof that they work. They do hair sample analysis and blood test to determine how much height the child will reach. The clinics often have programs that take up to a year and use acupuncture and herbal medicine. There is also supposed to be special growth stimulating massages that come with the package. If that is not enough, the clinic even gives the HGH/somatropin shots to the children which is growth hormone therapy.

At the end of the ABC segment, the reporter makes the important note that all those things the clinic are putting the young kids through are all experimental. At the end, a doctor was asked about the best way to maximize height and she states, 1. plenty of sleep 2. exercise 3. good diet and 4. being happy.

The place I am living at right now Gangnam-Gu I walk along the streets and nearly all the girls are wearing high heels, around the 3-4 inch mark. It doesn’t seem to matter that the girls are in pain all the time with these shoes, people just want to look good in this city to feel like they are fully accepted by others. It really is quite sad.

I am say clearly that South Korea is a country that is very competitive and I understand why the parents would want to give their children every form of advantage that they can in the job market or the mating selection.

 

Mind Hack 0: Get Rich By Developing The Correct Mentality And Thinking Differently

I wanted to do one post in the entire website on money, and the issue of money.

That’s all I will ever say about money, and I honestly don’t think you really need to take this type of advice from a website that mainly talks about how to increase height and grow taller. HOWEVER, I feel that money is a very important part of our lives and we need to be aware of it. Personally, these are the self-help or personal development books that I have personally read and felt have had an enormous influence on not just how I view money, but how I view life. I am not asking that you go out and buy these books, just be aware of them.

1. Think And Grow Rich

2. The Richest Man In Babylon

3. The Four Hour Work Week

4. Rich Dad, Poor Dad

5. Awaken The Giant Within

6. The Master Key System

This post was not written by  me, but was from the BusinessInsider.Com. After I read the article post, I was absolutely stunned for a good 10 minutes because in this article is the first step to really becoming wealthy. To become wealthy, you have to think like a person who is going to be wealthy. Our thoughts always is the first thing that starts all process and events in our lives. From our thoughts, we create and unfold our lives.

If you can develop the correct mentality, you will succeed. I am willing to bet that if you can just get this post completely integrated into your mental model of the world, you will start to find money and success in your life.

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently

Mandi Woodruff | Aug. 31, 2012, 1:22 PM | 684,771 |

World’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the “jealous” middle class to task for “drinking, or smoking and socializing” rather than working to earn their own fortune.What if she has a point?Steve Siebold, author of “How Rich People Think,” spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.

“[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have,” he said. “And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money.”

1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.

“The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest,” Siebold writes.

That’s why there’s a certain shame that comes along with “getting rich” in lower-income communities.

“The world class knows that while having money doesn’t guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable.”

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

“The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don’t try to pretend to save the world,” Siebold told Business Insider.

The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it’s keeping them poor, he writes.

“If you’re not taking care of you, you’re not in a position to help anyone else. You can’t give what you don’t have.”

3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

“While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems,” Siebold writes.

“The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It’s the average person’s level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away.”

4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.

“Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge,” he writes.

“Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master’s degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness…The wealthy aren’t interested in the means, only the end.”

5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

“Self-made millionaires get rich because they’re willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals and ideas into an unknown future,” Siebold writes.

“People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression.”

6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

“An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably,” he writes.

“The world class sees money for what it is and what it’s not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities.”

7. Average people earn money doing things they don’t love. Rich people follow their passion.

“To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time,” Siebold says. “But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it.”

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don’t enjoy “because they need the money and they’ve been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort.”

8. Average people set low expectations so they’re never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.

“Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed,” Siebold writes.

“No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations.”

9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

“That’s why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever,” he writes.

“While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it’s a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results.”

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people’s money.

Linear thought might tell people to make money in order to earn more, but Siebold says the rich aren’t afraid to fund their future from other people’s pockets.

“Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, ‘Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'” he writes.

11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they’re driven by emotion and greed.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn’t just about a fancy math formula.

“The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe,” Siebold writes.

“This knowledge of human nature and its overlapping impact on trading give them strategic advantage in building greater wealth through leverage.”

12. Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.

“Here’s how to live below your means and tap into the secret wealthy people have used for centuries: Get rich so you can afford to,” he writes.

“The rich live below their means, not because they’re so savvy, but because they make so much money that they can afford to live like royalty while still having a king’s ransom socked away for the future.”

13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.

Rich parents teach their kids from an early age about the world of “haves” and “have-nots,” Siebold says. Even he admits many people have argued that he’s supporting the idea of elitism.

He disagrees.

“[People] say parents are teaching their kids to look down on the masses because they’re poor. This isn’t true,” he writes. “What they’re teaching their kids is to see the world through the eyes of objective reality––the way society really is.”

If children understand wealth early on, they’ll be more likely to strive for it later in life.

14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.

The reason wealthy people earn more wealth is that they’re not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems, Siebold says.

“[The middle class] sees money as a never-ending necessary evil that must be endured as part of life. The world class sees money as the great liberator, and with enough of it, they are able to purchase financial peace of mind.”

15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don’t put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over, Siebold says.

“Walk into a wealthy person’s home and one of the first things you’ll see is an extensive library of books they’ve used to educate themselves on how to become more successful,” he writes.

“The middle class reads novels, tabloids and entertainment magazines.”

16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.

The negative money mentality poisoning the middle class is what keeps the rich hanging out with the rich, he says.

“[Rich people] can’t afford the messages of doom and gloom,” he writes. “This is often misinterpreted by the masses as snobbery.

Labeling the world class as snobs is another way the middle class finds to feel better bout themselves and their chosen path of mediocrity.”

17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they’ll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.

“The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities,” he writes.

“Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money.”

18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.

“Leverage is the watchword of the rich,” Siebold writes.

“Every investor loses money on occasion, but the world class knows no matter what happens, they will aways be able to earn more.”

19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire––a challenge most middle class thinkers aren’t comfortable living with.

“Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset,” Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn’t easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty.”

20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company’s health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite “boutique medical care” association, Siebold says.

“They pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members,” he writes.

“Some wealthy neighborhoods have implemented this strategy and even require the physician to live in the neighborhood.”

21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.

The idea the wealth must come at the expense of family time is nothing but a “cop-out”, Siebold says.

“The masses have been brainwashed to believe it’s an either/or equation,” he writes. “The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance.”

My Personal Perspective: I am almost about to be 28 years old, in American age. I am the owner of 3 businesses, including one company. I run the other two businesses as online projects which has a few good income streams coming in. I make less than $10,000 a year and I have been reading about 30 self improvement books a year for the last 3 years. 

These are the lessons that I have learned in my path.

1. People do not get rich from their income, only from their investments. If you look at the richest people in the world, they don’t have the largest incomes, but their worth is from stock options, companies their own, and assets they own.

2. The Lower class and Middle class people measure their money from their income. The Rich class measure their money from their “NET WORTH”, which is the net money worth of their assets minus the money worth of their Liabilities

3. Poor people always care about the amount of money in their bank account, which will only drop over time. Rich people care more about “Cash Flow” and how to increase the amount of cash flowing into their accounts. 

4. It is critical to be able to tell the difference between an asset and a liability.  If you can’t you are in deep trouble. 

5. Take at least 10% of your monthly income and put it in a safe investment plan that can grow around 5% annual interest. 

6. There is only 4 ways you can ever get really rich

  • 1. Get into Real Estate – Buying, selling, flipping, trading houses and residents. – You don’t need to get a degree in higher education for this.
  • 2. Start your own company –  own a large percentage of the company stock shares, and maybe one day sell out with a big IPO
  • 3. Through holding stocks and shares of companies – Long term holders of certain shares of certain companies become very wealthy
  • 4. Inheritance – The will of a deceased relative give you the assets and control of a portion of their wealth.
7. Being a doctor may get you the money, prestige, and honors but the amount of dedication one must have towards one’s work is absolutely insane.  Think 4 years of College + 4 years of Medical School + 2 years of Residency + another 2-6 years of Specialization.
8. Most people want to take the easy quick way to big money. That is why people are more willing to get a 2 year Business School MBA degree than a 3 year Law School JD degree than a 4 year Medical School MD degree.
9. It is much smarter to have multiple streams of income than relying on only 1 stream of income, your primary job. If you lose your job, all the money coming in to your account drops to zero. If you have multiple streams, you worry less.
10. You are probably going to change your job about once every 3-4 years, maybe more frequently. You always have to stay on your toes and be always adapting.
11. It is becoming less and less financially smart to buy and own a home these days than years before. My suggestion, don’t buy a home.
12. Systemize and automate as many procedures and processes as possible to reduce friction, inefficiency, waste of time, and lose of energy
13. Don’t work for money. make money work for you. (this means to find and learn the best areas to invest your money so it can multiply over time)
14. Work on yourself more, Work on the job less 
15. The most important thing for you to invest in is to invest in yourself. That means to get more education, learn more skills, take night classes.
16. Figure out what is the one thing you can do each day that will give you the most leverage. Leverage means getting the most amount of results from inputting the least amount of work.
17. Find out what are your strengths and focus on those more than your weaknesses. 
18. Know thy self. Know who you are, what you want, what your values are, what you believe in, what you want to ultimately achieve in life

Please, please, please remember that life is not about money and money indeed does not buy happiness. The best things in life are free.

 

 

Increase Height And Grow Taller Using Pilates

Along with Rolfing, I also recently discovered that a person can also use pilates to possibly gain some extra height. From doing some checking on google, these are the resources I found that talked about using Pilates to grow taller.

www.thepilatesguide.com/

What is “core muscle”?

Pilates exercises are designed to strengthen the “core” muscle of your body. Your body’s “core” muscles are made up of the deep abdominal wall and the intrinsic spinal muscles, all of which are your foundation for movement. They include the muscles in your abdominals and back, the muscles in your pelvic floor and the diaphragm. Many of which can’t be seen because they’re buried underneath other muscles. All these muscles work together to keep your trunk stable.

Strong core muscles keep your back healthy. They hold your body upright, improve your balance allowing you to move your arms and legs freely. If the core muscles are weak, your body won’t work effectively, and other muscles have to pick up the slack. Weak core is why we ‘hunch’ our shoulders or get an aching back.

How can Pilates make you grow taller?

The normal aging process takes a toll on height. The disks that separate and cushion the spinal vertebrae lose hydration and elasticity after the age of 25. The disks begin to shrink, and up to an inch of height may be lost. For those who spend too much time hunched at the computer, the back muscle become stretched and weak. Shoulders and chest muscle become tight. Even the neck loses mobility.

Pilates exercises strengthen the core muscle to correct these effects. The front of the body is opened and stretched, while the muscle along the back are strengthened. The crown of the head is extended upward, lengthening the back of the neck. Over time, these moves lead to more erect posture – and effective restore the lost height.

Which Pilates exercises are best for height increase?

“Breast stroke prep,” a foundation for the full “breast stroke” move is recommended for correcting slump. The exercise is done with the belly down to the mat. With arms bent so that the hands rest just above the shoulders, the head and chest are extended off the mat. Arms may also reach upward while head and chest are lifted. (A similar movement, known as the cobra, is used in yoga.) The move targets the muscle of the neck, upper and middle back to extend the upper body.

“Scapular isolations” are intended to combat rounded, slumping shoulders. In a seated position, arms reach forward, and the shoulder blades alternate between spreading apart and sliding together. The exercise helps shoulders find a happy medium between being clinched back and slumped forward.

“Hundred”, the quintessential Pilates exercise which aims at strengthening the abdominal. Starting on the back, knees are pulled into the chest. The legs are then straightened so they are perpendicular to the floor. The head and upper back are lifted off the mat. Straightened arms lift several inches off the floor. Arms are parallel to the floor, hovering 2 inches above it and are pulsed up and down for five inhalations and five exhalations. Pulses are repeated 10 times to equal 100.

From AZCentral

Can Pilates make you taller?

The Washington Post    –  Apr. 14, 2005 06:37 PM
Twenty years ago, Liz Torbert of Washington noticed she was shrinking.

Diagnosed with scoliosis in her mid-20s, Torbert experienced no visible effects until after menopause, when her bone density decreased. Then her spine began to collapse. Throughout her adult life she had been 5 feet 5 1/2 inches tall; by 2000, she’d shrunk to 4 feet 11 1/2.

“My ribs were touching my pelvis,” Torbert said. “I was leaning that far over.”
Today – at 75, about six decades after most people get their growth spurts – Torbert has regained two inches, standing 5 feet 1 1/2 inches. She credits her new stature to three years of regular Pilates classes.

Pilates, an 80-year-old rehabilitation exercise regimen that has found a huge new audience in the past several years, has cultivated a reputation for being able to create longer, leaner muscles … and to increase height.

“(Y)ou’ll be taller and slimmer, you’ll lose stress and pain in your neck and back, you’ll increase your ab strength and your joints will loosen up. …” reads an advertisement for Quantum Fitness Pilates in Washington, where Torbert practices.

Other ads are peppered with similar claims that hedge a bit: that you’ll “feel taller” or “stand taller”; students who have been taking the classes for some time are quoted as saying things like, “I feel taller.”

But Torbert’s case is the exception, experts say: A Pilates student who does not have a condition like osteoporosis or scoliosis isn’t likely to gain height.

“There’s no such research to prove that Pilates will make a person taller,” said Moira Merrithew, founder of Stott Pilates, a national equipment and training company. “What it can do is improve the posture so that people stand taller.”

Chronically poor posture, Merrithew explained, can be corrected by strengthening the muscles surrounding the spine. A major emphasis in Pilates is balancing the transverses abdominus, the deepest layer of the abdominals, with the multifidus, the major muscle supporting the lower back.

The normal aging process takes a toll on height. The disks that separate and cushion the vertebrae lose hydration and elasticity after the age of 25. The disks begin to shrink, and up to an inch of height may be lost. According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, any height loss greater than an inch signals vertebral bone degeneration.

Lifestyle factors can drag you down, too. For those who spend too much time hunched at the computer, the trapezius and latissimus (back muscles) become stretched and weak. Shoulders and pectorals (muscles surrounding the chest) become tight. Even the neck loses mobility.

To correct these effects, Pilates exercises extend the chest. The front of the body is opened and stretched, while the muscles along the back are strengthened. The crown of the head is extended upward, lengthening the back of the neck. Over time, these moves lead to more erect posture – and a taller look.

One Pilates move recommended to correct slump is the “breast stroke prep,” a foundation for the full “breast stroke” move. The exercise is done with the belly down to the mat. With arms bent so that the hands rest just above the shoulders, the head and chest are extended off the mat. Arms may also reach upward while head and chest are lifted. (A similar movement, known as the cobra, is used in yoga.)

The move “targets the muscles of the neck, upper and middle back to extend the upper body,” said Merrithew.

“Scapular isolations” are intended to combat rounded, slumping shoulders. In a seated position, arms reach forward, and the shoulder blades alternate between spreading apart and sliding together. Merrithew says that the exercise helps shoulders find a happy medium between being clinched back and slumped forward.

The quintessential Pilates exercise is the “hundred,” which aims at strengthening the abdominals. Starting on the back, knees are pulled into the chest. The legs are then straightened so they are perpendicular to the floor. The head and upper back are lifted off the mat. Straightened arms lift several inches off the floor. Arms are parallel to the floor, hovering 2 inches above it and are pulsed up and down for five inhalations and five exhalations. Pulses are repeated 10 times to equal 100.

Pilates movements are continuous and emphasize abdominal and back strength; yoga commonly focuses on held poses. Core strength is needed, and developed, in both types of exercise.

Yoga instructor Keith Moore doesn’t see much of a difference between the two disciplines. Moore teaches Ashtanga, a rigorous form of yoga, at the Ashtanga Yoga Center in Washington.

“I’m of the opinion that Pilates and yoga are equally beneficial for the spine,” he said. “Height is regained by focusing on core strength and by gaining flexibility. The strength and flexibility must be equal partners.”

Moore said it’s very common for yoga students to report height increases. Students will come to him after medical checkups and tell him that they’ve “grown.”

“They’ll promptly come and pull me aside with a huge grin and say, ‘Keith, I just went to the doctor, you won’t believe this.’ ”

“I don’t have any science to back me up, but the anecdotal evidence is strong.”

Last year, UCLA medical professor Gail Greenberg completed a pilot study of yoga’s influence on posture. The study’s results showed that yoga could improve kyphosis, a forward curve of the spine originally believed to be an irreversible bone disorder. Researchers found that by the study’s conclusion, yoga participants had straighter spines and their height measurements had increased. Karen Garcia, owner of Studio Body Logic in Arlington, Va., said Pilates can improve posture by building muscles to support the body against the constant tug of gravity, which otherwise compresses the spine’s spongy disks throughout the day.

“Most people just slump out of habit,” Garcia said. “But even gravity pulls us down.”

Garcia swears by a move called the “roll up,” which she says is a perfect example of how Pilates simultaneously strengthens and stretches the body. It’s executed on the back with the arms extended skyward. The head is lifted and the spine is sequentially rolled, one vertebra at a time, off the mat until the arms are parallel to the floor and the fingertips can tap the toes.

This is where the flexibility is tested. Strength comes into play as the movement is reversed and the spine rolls sequentially down to the starting position. Once a Pilates student has mastered that exercise, he or she will begin to look, feel and act – but not actually become – taller. For Torbert, that’s good enough.

Me: The conclusion for Pilates is similar to Rolfing, The Alexander Technique, and the Feldenkrais Method. All help the person realign their bodies, improve their movement, gain better balance, and improve posture. They will increase some height but that is often minimal and only temporary. 

Increase Height And Grow Taller Using Rolfing

Something I did not ever consider as a technique to increase height was the using of rolfing. I didn’t even know what rolfing was until a few weeks ago when I read a post off of HeightQuest and I was exposed to the practice. I am definitely not qualified enough to give any form of quality or informative advice on this technique.

I had to do a lot of research on the internet to see what other people have said about using rolfing to increase height. Overall, the practice of rolfing is similar to a combination of deep tissue massage and chiropractorship. I found a section of GiantScientific.Com about the possible use of rolfing to increase height which I posted below here…

What is Rolfing? How does it lead to height increase?

Rolfing is a kind of deep massage and “movement education” developed by Ida P. Rolf (1896-1979), a biochemist and therapist. Dr. Rolf claimed she found a correlation between muscular tensions and pent up emotions. Rolfing is the name given to Dr. Rolf’s method of massage, which transcends chiropractic in that it is based on the notion that emotional as well as physical health depends upon being properly aligned. Alignment must be of much more than just the spine. To be healthy, according to Rolfers, you must align your head, ankles, hips, thorax, pelvis, knees, shoulders, ears, etc., in just the right way or else the evils of gravity will be felt. By being properly aligned, gravity enhances personal energy leading to a healthy body and emotional state.

In short, Rolfing enables one to have all the body parts in perfect alignment with earth gravity in such a way that the effect of gravity to your body is minimized. When gravity effect is minimized on spine and other parts, they are less compressed and able to stand up taller and lead to overall height increase.

How is Rolfing done?

The deep massage techniques employed in Rolfing structural integration seek to loosen and relax the fascia the membranes that surround the muscles. Rolfing practitioners believe that the fascia toughen and thicken over time, subtly contorting the body and throwing it out of healthy alignment.

To break up knots in the fascia and “reset” the muscles, Rolfing practitioners apply slow, sliding pressure with their knuckles, thumbs, fingers, elbows, and knees. The treatments are not mild and relaxing indeed, they can cause a degree of pain. However, practitioners view this temporary discomfort as a sign that the treatment is achieving the changes necessary to bring the body back into proper alignment.

Before beginning the treatments, your therapist will take a full medical and personal history, and evaluate your posture and body structure for signs of tension and misalignment. The treatments themselves are performed while you lie or sit on a massage table or floor mat. You’ll probably be asked to synchronize your breathing with the therapist’s manipulations. You may also be required to move your arms and legs in certain ways.

During each session, the Rolfing practitioner will concentrate on a different set of muscles, starting with those nearest the surface and moving on to those deep within the body. To maximize the benefits of treatment, the therapist may also teach you self-help exercises known as “movement integration.”

While the treatments have no lasting side effects, they sometimes prove painful. They are also said to occasionally release suppressed memories of severe emotional anguish.

From Tyler’s HeightQuest.Com article found HERE…
“”….Rolfing is a form of deep tissue massage.  Deep tissue massage targets your connective tissue of which articular cartilage is a part of.  We know that dynamic loading of articular cartilage enhances gene expression of anabolic activities for cartilage and chondrocytes.  Deep tissue massage is dynamic loading of articular cartilage.  If your growth plates are still open, deep tissue massage may enhance chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation in your growth plate resulting in increased height.  If you have no active chondrocytes then dynamic loading(deep tissue massage) may give you some height in your cartilage.  If you do re-activate chondrocyte proliferation with a mechanism like lateral synovial joint loading then deep tissue massage will have the same effect on enhancing chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation.”
Me: From this other blog found HERE, this women writes about the ability to use rolfing to gain extra height, but she lost is after years of bad practices. 

Usually at least a week needs to pass between sessions, but these people were being trained. Robin was my trainee. I found this entry in my journal, dated August 1, 1984:

The Rolfing is finished! I am really amazed at the difference in my body in the five weeks since Robin and I began the process of becoming Rolfer and Rolfee. See the next page [two pictures of me in my underwear which I am not going to show you!]: it’s not as obvious in these two series that the length I have gained is mainly in my torso, but you can see it if you study the elbow placement and the smoother lines in the right-hand torso. My head is also back rather than forward as it was before. So I am pleased I am now 5’5″ tall, which is taller than I’ve ever been. I feel much more integrated in my body now, and the Rolfing should continue to change my body for another seven months.

I also found some other earlier entries where I complained mightily about the pain. It does hurt, and the Rolfer uses her elbow, hard pressure, and her fingers to shape the fascia underneath the skin. I found a link to a woman’s page who went through it to help her overcome past injuries. I gained almost two inches in height at the age of 43, and I kept it for several years.As the years wear on, the effects of gravity begin to pull you back down. (I’m back to 5’3″.) I went through two series of five to gain back the height, and a couple of sessions of three. Although it’s been at least five years since I had any Rolfing at all, I learned so much about how to move around from my core. Sometimes on the street I’ll see somebody and unconsciously think how much Rolfing could improve them. Almost every city has some Rolfers, if you decide to give it a try and spend a fair amount of money!

From a discussion on The Impartial Height Increase Boards

well ill get right to the results and the give you the back ground…

after 10 sessions of rolfing i measured my self and im between 1/4 to 1/2 an inch taller. i started out at 5’9 and when i measured yesterday i was a little past 5’9 1/4, and i didn’t sleep very good the night before. so maybe when i get a good nights sleep ill be up to 5’9 1/2. well see

other benefits are my shoulders and much more broad. my shoulders and legs have a lot better range of motion. and supposedly im less exposed to injury when playing sports. my rotator cuff was kind of messed up before i started the sessions and now that its over, my rotator cuff feels a lot better.

now the background

i jsut turned 21, my plates are fused (not that it matters with rolfing), and i really haven’t tried to many other thing as far as height increase stuff goes. i tried cycling for a lil over am onth and had no results and stopped because i was worried about my knees. and i was just ****ing bored of riding a stationary bicycle.

i definately thought i was going to be atleast 5’10 when i measured myself because a few people told me that i looked taller. i even felt much taller than when i started the rolfing. i had to adjust my rear view mirror in my car a few times because it seemed like my back was getting longer. my torso definately looks a lot longer so i don’t know what the **** happened, i don’t understand how im only 1/2 inch taller at max. but whatevs, im happy i atleast got that. and even if i didn’t grow taller at all, im happy with the other benefits i got from the rolfing.

the 10 sessions cost $800 from a certified advanced rolfer in san diego, cali thats where i live. the sessions were pretty painful but nothing too bad. and as far as the emotional or physcological aspect of rolfing goes, the rolfer said that kind of for people that are mentally unstable, and the pain of the rolfing just brings out bad memories. it rarely happens to people.

so now im going to explore the LHL formula and hypnosis. i want to atleast make it to 5’11 and im pretty sure im going to.

if you have any questions about rolfing feel free to ask

C.ya

Lee

 

How Rolfing Helps You Grow Tall?

Rolfing is manipulation of soft tissue in order to realign the body structurally and harmonizing its movement with gravity. In other words, proper alignment of the body is what Rolfing is all about. All parts of the body like the feet, ankles, neck head should be aligned for correct posture and for general well being. It also involves deep massage.

Rolfing is more than just massage. It reshapes the body’s myofascial structure by applying pressure and energy, and in the process freeing the body from the effects of physical and emotional traumas. It is meant to improve the overall well being of a person. It counteracts the effects of gravity, which over a period of time pulls the body out of alignment. This pull causes the body’s connective tissue to become harder and stiffer, and the muscles to atrophy. This leads to stiffening and contraction as well as slouching or an overly erect posture.

It has been observed that there is a correlation between muscular tensions and pent up emotions. A healthy emotional makeup would depend upon the alignment of the body parts. Rolfing enables the body to be perfectly aligned with gravity, so that the effect of the gravity on the body is minimized. Once the gravity effect is minimized on the spine and other body parts, then they are less compressed and one looks taller.

The deep massage technique in Rolfing loosens up the fascia and relaxes it and improves upon the muscles surrounding it.

The general belief by those practicing Rolfing is that the fascia toughens and thickens over a period of time and results in unhealthy alignment of the body. The Rolf practitioner will concentrate on different set of muscles and try to improve upon them through massage.

Rolfing stretches out the muscle fibers and they become more supple and elastic. This in the process helps in improving the height as stretched muscles add to the height.

The treatment is painful at times but there are no side effects. Sometimes suppressed emotional anguish is released.

Rolfing improves posture, which in turn adds inches to your height. Any person with a good posture will look tall. A good appearance consists of an erect back, a straight head and walking in a manner that you appear tall and a person of good health and general well-being.

Me: In conclusion, the type of deep tissue massage rolfing is seems to definitely at least in the short term realign some back vertebrate and give a person some extra height. It does seem to work for a percentage of the people who use it. Most people would also agree that it only improves posture and body aligned, so if one does stand well, the added height is lost soon.