Click to go to my Substack post:https://sandeewinn.substack.com/p/whats-your-new-normal-gonna-be?r=16pj6t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Yesterday in yoga class, I had the wonderful experience of watching someone get out of their own way and accomplish something that was previously difficult.
So many of us have a story about a bad back, knee injury, shoulder pain, or trauma from a scary and bad event. We tell ourselves and other these stories so many times that they ingrain in our psyche and become a part of us, so deeply entrenched that we hold onto it at a cellular level and can’t imagine being without it. We become the story. This builds “ruts” in our brains and we begin to function automatically including this as a new “normal”. This might mean a limp, avoiding certain movements, places or just stop doing anything that might trigger a negative reaction. We are built for survival, so this is part of our primitive instinct. But what if it doesn’t have to be? The student in yesterday’s class has had several bad ankle sprains and struggles with ankle weakness. This person has had this issue for most of their 50+ years. We were working on a balance pose on one leg with the use of a chair, if needed. It is not an easy pose, but doable with time. One leg was pretty stable, and they did pretty well. The other leg was a challenge. They made a few attempts but were falling out of the pose. I had them stop, take a breath, focus on grounding down through the foot like roots on a tree. Then focusing on breath, let the foot find the way to stabilize and then pivot the body forward, raising the back leg. Slowly, they found stability and balance and held the pose and even letting go of the chair. It was beautiful. The student’s comment after was that they live in their head and we both laughed because I do too. It is hard to not over think. We all do it when sometimes we just need to breathe and let our body, or nature or events take shape. It might be better or more interesting than anything we can force into being. I am so grateful I was there to witness this moment for them and remind myself of the need to let go and breathe. With all the hours we spend hovering over our phones or computer keyboards and laptops, are we destined to become the shape of cooked shrimp?
In the massage room, I see more and more people with tight shoulders rolled forward and arms that can’t lay straight on the table. Biceps are shortened, chest muscles tight and back muscles overstretched, abdominals, weak and tight, neck muscles tugged in the wrong direction. This isn’t how we want to evolve, is it? I’m finding the book, “Body Electric”, by Manoush Zomorodi, to be so interesting on how our health is paying the price in the Digital Age. She is an award-winning host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour. She collaborated on this project with Columbia University Irving Medical Center. This was one of the largest public health study of its kind. In October 2023, NPR listeners were challenged with taking movement breaks throughout their workday. In total, there were over 20,000 participants from across all occupations, ages and from all over the world. 85% were women. It was found that walking five minutes every 30 minutes was enough to make an impact on the following:
I recommend the book. To learn more, you can read a report about the study or listen to an interview of Zomorodi at this link: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/1213518650/changing-our-sedentary-screen-filled-habits “Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear.
The Earth is charged more than 10,000 times a day by various electrical storms over its surface. This energy. We use ground wires to use electrical energy safely. This grounding drains away any unwanted buildup of electrical charge. When a device or person is connected to Earth, that device or person will equalize with, and maintain, the stable electrical potential of the Earth. Humans are electrically charge beings. This can be measured using various instruments and as death is occurring, a change in energy begins at the feet and disperses up the body and out the top of the head. There are positive and negative charges in our bodies that are necessary for movement of nutrients and fluids throughout cells, organs, and systems. Walking, sitting or standing on bare Earth for 30 minutes or more, balances out our energy levels and provides the following benefits: - reduces or eliminates chronic pain - improves sleep, in most cases - increases energy levels - lowers stress and promotes calmness - normalizes the body’s biological rhythms - thins blood and normalizes blood pressure and flow - relieves muscle tension and headaches - lessens hormonal and menstrual symptoms - dramatically speeds healing and helps prevent bedsores - reduces or eliminated jet lag - protects the body against potentially health-disturbing environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) - accelerates recovery from intense athletic activity The Indians used to bury the sick up to their necks to help them heal from illness. There is a reason why putting your hands in the dirt when gardening feels so good. Remember as a kid when you ran around on the grass? As a new massage therapist, I was having a tremendous amount of body pain. I talked to two different people, a Reiki Master and a Yoga instructor and both asked me if I grounded at the end of a session with clients. Interestingly what I was doing was putting my hands on their feet and silently asking for anything I missed to be removed and let them heal. I was pulling this “stuff” out and into myself. When I changed how I ended the session by focusing my energy on connecting to Earth and silently separating our energies and blessing them, my pain stopped. I never would have believed this except that in one session, I’d had a woman walk in with a migraine and ask for a massage. I did not believe my massage instructor when she’d told us to be careful not to take on other people’s “stuff”. As I put my hands on her head and was working, I got the worst headache! I don’t get headaches, so this was weird. I immediately took my hands off, shook them out and consciously kept my energy separated from hers and finished the session, without any problem and removed her headache. As scientific instruments become more sensitive, energy has been proven many times. I urge you to set aside your judgement and skepticism and try it. For an interesting read, I recommend, “Earthing”, by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra M.D. and Martin Zucker. Much of the above information is from their book. Sitting here, experiencing another epic winter storm, it occurred to me that this is a perfect time to work on clearing my mind. Instead of endless scrolling and adding to my Amazon cart, it is an opportunity to calm the chatter that the “roommate” in my head keeps on shuffle.
As humans, it is a part of our nature to want to feel part of something bigger; family, church, community, political parties, occupations, etc. We tend to label ourselves by our groups and occupations as who we are when this isn’t the case at all. You are as unique as your fingerprints. There is no one in this universe like you, and you didn’t just appear. You are part of a greater force and intelligence, and my belief is that the need to connect to this force is what drives our need to be part of something larger than ourselves. This force, or whatever you want to call it; God, Universal energy, etc., can only be connected to with silence. We can speak to it through prayer or song, but that doesn’t let the answers come, only silence can do that. How many times do you sing or pray and then take time to listen? Meditation is a way to connect directly to this force without the interference of dogma or people and organizations that let you believe you aren’t capable of connecting without them or making rules in how to do it. We all came from this force and it is there, just waiting for you to let it through the noise. The noise has so many forms, most of it our inner thoughts or inner “roommate” chatting away. The silence between these thoughts is where the magic happens. Learning to extend these gaps is what meditation is about. Most people think meditation is hard and they aren’t capable of it. This is the ego, that fragile sense of self, protecting itself because if we do away with it, what will that feel like and that scares us. Try this: Set the phone down. Better yet, turn it off. Sit or lay down comfortably, so that your head, neck, and torso are aligned, and you can expand your chest with breath. Now close your eyes and hum. This vibration will resonate in your head, and you might find your sinuses open. It also affects your Vagus nerve, stimulating the parasympathetic system and taking you out of “flight or fight” mode. Keep humming for about a minute or two. Now just breathe and listen to the silence. At first you might only be able to do this for a moment or two and that is great! I began my mediation practice for 30 seconds because with my squirrel brain, I knew I could at least do that. Practice will help you increase the silencing of your brain. The more you try this, the more you will start to notice the effects; calm thoughts, relaxed body, feeling a connection to your soul. If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend a powerful little book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, “Getting in the Gap”. I’d love to hear how this works for you. On Friday, as I was changing the sheets on the massage table, a family walked down the hall, past my office. They got my attention because a woman that looked like the mom, was complaining loudly, "There better be a place to sit, I don't want to walk too far!" She had a four-legged cane and was holding onto one of the teenagers with her other arm. She was bent at the waist, and she was shuffling along.
She was not older than 45. Her backside was square shaped, like a chair. She had literally taken the shape of a chair and probably couldn't straighten up. She was very overweight and you could tell her body was doing all it could just to keep her on her feet. It made me so sad. How can this happen? Its obvious, she has stopped moving and sits all the time. She has lost the ability to stand and move comfortably. We have become a population of sitters. Our work environments demand that we sit at a desk most of the time. Our home lives usually center around sitting in a chair, recliner or couch. If we aren't sleeping, we spend most of the time we are awake, sitting. Our bodies aren’t built for that. Your body evolved to walk, run, sprint, move side to side, jump, hop, bend lift heavy things and twist. We are still hunter/gatherer bodies, and we are trying to cram them into a position that isn't healthy for it. Sitting decreases our ability to breathe fully and expand our lungs. It affects your ability to poop. It can lead to problems with blood flow, nerve impingement and body aches, and stiffness. It can also affect your brain's ability to function at its best. I know what you're thinking, "But it's damn cold outside and what else am I supposed to do?" Put your coat on and go for a walk. Even if it is just to the mailbox and back. Do that a few times a day or do laps around the house every hour or so. If you are playing games, hanging out with kids or watching TV, get on the floor or ottoman. Try sitting and moving into a variety of positions. If you work from home, turn on some tunes and dance for 5 minutes every hour or march in place. It's going to feel weird or uncomfortable the first few times, but don't be a quitter unless it truly causes pain, then switch to another position that doesn't. Keep it up and you'll find that your body begins to feel better. I'm typing this from my improvised stand-up desk because I over did some twisty rope flow yesterday and my old back injury is reminding me it's still there. It also means I need to work more on core and rotation. This morning, I went for a short walk, slowly, did some stretches and will keep moving and put heat on it throughout the day. It will probably be better by tonight. If I just stopped and sat, I'd be paying for it with a lot more pain. I'm also going to get me a massage this week! Today is Winter. In a couple of days, it will be warmer. We are in that “mixed-up Missouri weather” time of year, when it can’t make up its mind. It’s a good time to think of how we can keep working on being healthy, while cooped up inside.
I’m going to list several things and in later posts, I'll go into further detail. Health is how we sleep, eat, move, and feel outside and inside. It is a measure of how we function. You know how eating or drinking some things like sweets and alcohol makes you feel versus a good meal of veggies and meat. You know how you feel after a good night’s rest versus a sleepless night or stressful day. Sleep:
Don’t let Winter set you back on your health journey. Keep working on creative ways to take care of you. You got this! You would die if you didn’t get sleep. It is necessary for the body to recover and there are several things the body does while you are sleeping that creates better health.
The trick is, getting there. Our brains are so desensitized, overstimulated, drugged and out of balance that it forgets how to turn off at night. Here are some ideas to help:
If you want more info, I suggest Andrew Huberman’s Podcast. He is also on Youtube. Andrew Huberman - YouTube People get intimidated by the term, “meditation”. They think it means sitting in an awkward position with your eyes closed and your mind blank. WRONG! Meditation has many forms and you probably are already practicing a few ways without even knowing it.
Do you like to sit and enjoy your coffee in the quiet of the morning? Do you enjoy a walk in nature? How about pulling weeds or planting flowers? These can all be meditative. Sitting on the bank of a lake or river enjoying the scene around you while you wait for the bite, can be meditative. When I first moved to Missouri, my son invited me to sit in the deer stand with him as he waited for a sighting. It was a cold Fall morning, and the deer stand was in the back portion of the farm, away from the road and noise. The breeze was moving the last dry leaves on the trees and there was a squirrel rustling around in the brush below us. As we sat, the connection with nature and stillness was there and I could understand the draw hunting could have beside providing meat. Today is beautiful! Get outside! Go connect and find some stillness, even if it is just 10 minutes. You will feel the effects for long after. Being Healthy Isn’t Complicated
Being healthy comes down to two things: Diet and exercise. First a little history: We began as hunters and gatherers. Our days were spent looking for food and shelter. This took up a lot of energy and our stress was getting enough food and running from or fighting the bear. There wasn’t a fat Neanderthal in the bunch. Then about 10,000 years ago we started growing food and domesticating animals. We stopped following the herds and settled, building homes and communities. Resources became more stable, and we had regular shelter. We still had to work hard to keep our food sources going, but this lifestyle freed up more of our time and we used that time to do other things. Stress was associated with food and social standing. If you look at old paintings, you see the peasants were usually thin and the nobles were the chubby ones. About 260 years ago, the industrial age began. We invented machines to do much of the labor humans did. Life became much easier, and we had much more free time. Stress was still food, shelter and social standing. Again, looking at old photos, tells us who was physically using their bodies and who wasn’t In the 1970’s began what is called, the “Digital Age”. We are moving toward technology replacing humans at almost anything. This means we are doing less and less physically and feeling the effects of stress more. In the 70’s and 80’s there were usually one or two “fat kids” in the class, but most kids were thin and running around until the streetlights came on. This was also the time when food began changing. High fructose corn syrup was introduced to the American diet as a replacement for cane and beet sugars, leading to the epidemic of diabetes and obesity in America. Social media has led us to watch others exercising instead of sweating. This is when our stress began shifting to our jobs, finances, politics and still social standing. Just watching news or scrolling can lead to major impacts of stress. Thus, we have created our own demise... You are not powerless. You have power in the choices you make every day, at the store and in how you use your body. While the rest of the world is over-thinking everything and pointing fingers at who to blame, just do the easy thing. Eat REAL food and MOVE your body. REAL food is anything you could hunt, raise, grow or forage as a cave man. They didn’t have McDonald’s, Honey Bunches of Oats or Sonic. Cook more. It has been proven that those that cook most of their food, live healthier. I’m a big fan or cooking one or two things that will last me all week, like a soup or casserole. Something I can reheat for dinner or pack for lunch. With the local farms and warmer weather, there a so many great choices of meat, veggies and fruit! MOVE. This can be as easy as walking around the block or jumping jacks in your living room. Try to get a total of 30 minutes of movement in a day. Breaking it into short durations of 5 to 10 minutes is a great way to break up your day and makes it less over-whelming. Missouri currently shows 35% of the population considered obese. In the US, 42% of the population is obese. Missouri is a state of hard-working folks that have challenges in accessing healthy food and dealing with adverse weather conditions. This has a major impact on our efforts to be healthier. It takes a little more time to meal plan and prepare. It means wearing clothes that allow you to be comfortable in the outdoors. Better choices can lead to better sleep, less brain fog, less anxiety and/or depression, less body pain and aches, more energy, better self-esteem, healthier outcomes at your doctor appointment, and better quality of life as you age. Seriously, it's a long list of benefits. The only downside is it is the tougher choice. The weather is changing so get out there and take advantage of it! P.S. - I’ll be here to take care of those sore muscles from all that fun. |
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