SFLP: Part 8

At the beginning of this program, we talked about inner baggage, guilt, and things that weigh us down.  I’ve kept my posts here to a minimum and allowed time and space for thoughtfulness.  After all, anyone can give advice, pontificate, and wax eloquent.  But really, the DOING is up to you.  So how have you done on the internal part of this program?  Have you let the mental chatter slow you down and prevent you from tackling the physical parts of this journey?

I’d like to come full circle for this final post of the SFLP.  Have you uncovered those hidden things which hold you back from being truly and simply fit?  Are you finding that your motivation to exercise or eat right is REDEMPTION rather than FOR JOY?

For the rest of this week, keep your notebook close by, and write down your thoughts on “doing for joy rather than for redemption.”  See if you can find the source of your need for redemption in there.  You might just find that you aren’t so bad after all, and not really in need of “fixing.”  And then, maybe, just maybe, you might find yourself free to enjoy exercise and wellness because you want to!

SFLP: Part 7

So how have you been?  Are you learning things?  To me, it seems that lately most people have been feeling stretched thin and stressed out.  Have you been saying “WTF?” more often than not?

Any time we embark on a new course, things tend to get messier before they get better.  And right now, with Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn, there are powerful forces afoot, asking us to break down old structures and transform our innermost selves.

For Part 7 of this inner journey, I suggest taking some quiet time for yourself to ponder and write.  Consider these twelve topics, and then record your thoughts.

1.  Who am I, at the very innermost core?  What things, actions, thoughts define me best?

2.  What material things really matter to me, and what things do I really need?

3.  How do I best communicate?  What do I need to be an effective communicator, an effective learner?  Can I learn to understand others better?

4.  Is my house a home to me?  What do I need to feel “at home?”

5.  How can I be more joyful, more creative, more childlike?  Do I need to be?

6.  How can I be more practical, efficient, and organized?   Do I need to be?

7.  What areas of my life are out of balance?  How can I regain balance?

8.  What things am I passionate about?  Have I lost passion anywhere?

9.  Is it time to go back to school, learn something new, travel, or otherwise expand my horizons?

10.  Are there areas in my life where I need more structure?  Less structure?

11.  Are there areas in my life where I’ve become too detached?  Do I need to make new friends and join new groups?

12.  Do I need to forgive and forget and move on anywhere in my life?

Happy thinking and happy writing!

 

SFLP: Part 6

How has your internal road trip been going?  Are you keeping notes?  Have you thought about the guilt you’ve carried around, about the ways you can simplify, about the role of fitness in your life?  As a coach, I often tell my athletes, “Pick one thing you can do better right now.”  Have you found one thing to do better?

For Part 6, I’d like you to think about your posture.

Proper posture will allow your body to operate more efficiently and effectively.  To achieve postural alignment, imagine a plumb line beginning at your ear and extending through your shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle.  Have another person view you from the side in order to get an objective picture.

Poor posture can cause muscle pain, limit performance, affect digestion, impair organ function, and increase joint wear-n-tear.  And good posture can actually improve your appearance by making you look taller and your stomach flatter.  And hey, who can turn that down?

Learn to recognize the warming signs of poor posture–backache, stiff neck, headache–so that you can correct it.  Develop an awareness of your body (called a kinesthetic sense).  Relax, and don’t tense up muscles you are aren’t using.  For instance, watch yourself in the mirror as you brush your teeth.  Are your shoulders up in your ears?  Do you hold you arms stiffly and up in the air?  Do you have your head tilted back?

Learn to breath and mentally scan your body for tense areas.  Re-align and soften those areas.  Get yourself back into “plumb.”  I often find that just dropping my chin down a bit reminds me to sit or stand taller and straighter.

Take note of how often you hold yourself in stressed-out posture.  Take note of how often you sit tilted-ly in your office chair or how often you lean to one side more than the other.

It will certainly take time to reverse bad posture habits that you’ve had for years, but I am guessing that the improvements in the way your body feels will be the positive reinforcement needed to maintain a new habit.

 

 

 

SFLP: Part 4

How has your Stretching Challenge been going?  Have you been able to work in five minutes daily so far?  Or have you skipped a day or two?  If you have been stretching, did you find it easier to do in the morning or in the evening?  Did it help you to wake up, or did it help you to relax and fall asleep more easily?  Or did you not do it at all and learn that you really don’t give a rat’s patoot about stretching?

No matter what your experience has been with the Stretching Challenge, I hope that you have made some realizations about yourself, either physically, mentally, or emotionally.  Experience is the best teacher, I think.

On to the next part, then.  This time, rather than adding something in, let’s take something out.  Call this phase Project Simplify.

In this age of technological overload and Faster-Better-More, it is all too easy to chase one’s tail in the pursuit of some perceived need.  Or to fill a perceived void.  And so, for the next five days, I suggest that you take a break from some form of Distraction or Convenience.

Perhaps you find yourself always grabbing fast food on your way home from work.  Perhaps you spend hours on Facebook sharing the latest pictures of your beloved doing something adorable.  Or perhaps you fill your time by focusing on perfectionist details meant to impress others when in reality they are done out of a need to redeem yourself and feel worthwhile.  But really, are these the lasting, important, and valuable things that a Warrior on the Path of Learning needs to do?

Slow down for the next five days.  Cook fresh, whole food with your kids and teach them healthy  habits.  Unplug and read a book instead.  Sit and be still for 15 minutes.  Find ways to let go.

At first, it might be difficult to have stillness and quiet and simplicity.  And in this discomfort, you may learn a few things about yourself.  Hang in there for the full five days.  Find a place of Quiet Confidence inside yourself.

Food (and other stuff) for Thought

A few quick Wellness Facts-n-Tips for your Wednesday!

• According to the Journal of Functional Foods, a small study showed that people who ate yogurt containing the probiotic strains L. amylovorus or L. fermentum for 6 weeks felt more energy and lost weight.
• Dandelion greens are high in beta carotene, Vitamin E, calcium, potassium, B Vitamins, and zinc.  Considered a “bitter,” dandelions support digestion and make an excellent kidney tonic.
• After publicity about certain barefoot running cultures such as the Tarahumara in Mexico, exercise enthusiasts and runners everywhere embraced minimalist footwear for every athletic endeavor.  The theory was that adopting a footstrike as if one was running barefoot–that is, landing on the forefoot–was healthier.  However, more recent studies about the running patterns of those barefoot cultures have shown that their footstrike varied with their SPEED.  At slower speeds, the barefoot runners actually landed on the rear or middle part of the foot.  At faster speeds, they landed on the middle or front part.
• Coconut oil has recently come into favor for its healthful properties.  But be aware that it is the VIRGIN coconut oil that has the good stuff, not the partially hydrogenated version found in some fast foods.  Virgin coconut oil contains beneficial medium-chain fatty acids and lauric acids.  It also has a higher smoke point (350 degrees) which makes it a good choice for sauteing and stir frying.
• Even though they are both simple sugars, fructose and glucose are processed differently.  Glucose seems to signal a satiety message (‘I’m full!”) to the brain, while fructose does not.  In other words, fructose will not cause you to feel full but glucose will.

(Information taken from the April 2013 issue of the IDEA Fitness Journal.)

 

 

The Farm Effect

Asthma, allergies, auto-immune disorders . . . . all have been on the rise over the past several years.  Of course, there is never just one reason for anything, and these conditions are no exception.  But one big contributor may be what’s been called the “hygiene hypothesis.”  This theory says that our over-emphasis on a hyper-sterile environment may be coming back to bite us in the bum.

Just as the  overuse of antibiotics has created “superbugs,” our fascination with things like hand sanitizers has resulted in another unintended consequence:  unhealthy immune systems.  Researchers are now realizing that our immune system needs to be tried and tested in order to function properly.

A 2002 study in Germany found that people who were born and raised on farms were less likely to have allergies and asthma.  Further studies have agreed with those findings.  Being exposed to the many microbes on a farm seems to have beneficial effects on one’s immunity.  In other words, the immune system needs to have a chance to learn how to defend itself against attackers, and then also learn how to simmer down when it isn’t being attacked.

To me, the take-away message is that into each life some rain must fall.  We can’t avoid the heartbreaks, the tears, the sniffles, the failures.  Our quest for perfection can only end in more suffering.

Product Review–Everyday Throat Spray

‘Tis the season for colds and flu, and having been sick for way too long last winter, I was thrilled to find a great product that seems to be a miracle worker for me. A very helpful man at the vitamin store recommended Everyday Throat Spray (www.everydaythroatspray.com), and I will be forever grateful to him.

Ligusticum Porteri (Osha Root)

This is Osha Root, which is the key ingredient in the spray.  According to the Everyday Throat Spray website, Osha is antibacterial and antiviral.  It has a great reputation for fighting respiratory illnesses.  (In reading up on Osha Root, I found this lovely website:  http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/osha_root.php.  Lots of good information there.)

The spray also contains Echinacea Angustifolia, Licorice Root, Ginger Root, Peppermint, and Colloidal Silver.  It sells for $10, and is available in stores and through the website.

Of course, I’m no doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV, so please remember that this is just my opinion here.  Please check that this formula is safe for YOU to use.  Certain people should not use licorice root or Echinacea, for example.  Do your homework first!

Wishing you good health!