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I hope you’ve been practicing some walking backwards. In your back yard, hallway or in the gym. The goal is to work up to 10 minutes, just walking at a normal rate and pace. For you that are ready and have access to a gym, try walking backward on a treadmill. This can be tricky, so follow the following steps:
Another way to strengthen the upper leg muscles is to do flexion and extension. This can easily be done at home. Adding in some glute work is also good and will also help support your low back. After all, it is ALL connected.
Try just 10 sets of each: - Extension; sitting in a chair, lifting the lower leg until the leg is straight, flex the leg and then lower. - Flexion; standing and using a chair, desk or counter, lift just the lower leg until it the leg is at a 90-degree angle, flex the back of the leg and lower. - Glutes (butt); standing, lift the whole leg from the hip as high as you can keeping the hips forward. Squeeze the glute and then lower the leg. Some alternatives are using weight machines at the gym or elastic bands tethered to the leg of the chair or table. Now walk around forward and then a little backward. Work up to 2 or 3 sets of 10. For those of you that are already pretty fit but having some knee pain or discomfort, I suggest checking out these guys: The Kneesovertoesguy - YouTube graham tuttle - YouTube The Ready State - YouTube I’ll be using a lot of their information and breaking it down for us beginners out there. #kneepain #kneesovertoes #walkingbackward #olderbetterwiser  In cruising around on Instagram one day, this got my attention:
Ben Patrick on Instagram: “Momma likes to alternate 12 weeks each of Zero and Dense! atgonlinecoaching.com” My right knee and I have a long history of love and mostly hate, pretty much since I can remember. As a little kid, tapping my kneecap with a hammer was the only relief from the deep ache I always felt. When I was 18, I had a doctor tell me I’d be lucky to walk after the age of 45 due to my active lifestyle as a competitive athlete. I left his office in tears but even more determined to learn an answer to my pain. Strengthening the muscles that support the knee was key to being pain free. In fact, I was able to run for the first time and began running every morning. I got in the best shape of my life, competing in races and doing all kinds of active and fun things and I was in my 30’s and 40’s. Around 2006 I got hit in the foot by my surfboard with no visible or physical sign of injury. Six years later I was having significant foot pain and with an X-ray learned I’d broken my foot. Two years after that I was seriously injured by a young massage therapist. I was lying face down and without warning, she took my heel all the way to my butt. I had to have my knee drained, lost range of motion and had pain all the time. It was a perfect storm of injuries. I began to give up hope of being an active and athletic person ever again. I gained weight, became sedentary, and depressed. I let that go on for too many years. Moving to be closer to my granddaughters gave me the incentive to be more active and learn if there was any hope out there for someone like me. I had worked five years with the fire department and did not want to end up like some of the folks we helped; unable to get out of a chair or need assistance out of bed or off the toilet. I read “Older, Faster, Stronger”, by Margaret Webb. Her goal was to see if she could be as fast or faster than her 20-year-old self. She gets to know 85 and 94 year old marathoners and runners and discusses how we can and should be moving. Her story was inspiring. Christopher McDougall, in his book, “Born to Run”, tells the story of the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico that run miles and miles as part of their culture. He compares them to the ancient messengers that ran miles between cities in Roman times. Research from the University of Utah proves that we are meant to run, and they prove our ancestors hunted that way. He also talks about how research shows that the more construction to a shoe, the increased risk of injury, hence the new move by many footwear manufacturers to make minimalist style shoes. He has become a barefoot runner as a result and no longer suffers from the debilitating injuries he used to suffer. At this point, if you are still with me, you’ve already decided you can’t or won’t even try this. I understand. I was in that place just a year ago and it creeps into my thinking even now. However, this morning I was able to almost do a full squat. There are tears in my eyes as I write this because I NEVER would have thought I could do that again. It was scary and I had to do it twice just to make sure I really did it. I am not expecting this from anyone, just using that as an example of possibilities. I have told myself and others the story of my inability so much that it has been ingrained in me to a cellular level. I have let fear be in charge and have become a prisoner of it instead of moving as I was born to do. All I am asking is that you let your fears, your story and your opinions take a break. Just for hopes sake, I want you to try something: Take your shoes off. Take a deep breath and walk backwards 10 steps. Use assistance if you need to but just try 10 steps down your hallway or patio. Do it backwards and do it barefoot. Put your toe down first and then heel. Try not to shuffle or be flat footed...even if you are, that is a start. How did it feel? Why do this? First, the ability to walk backwards is an indication of the risk of falling. If you can walk backward, you have less risk. Second, it requires use of muscles that we don’t usually use and will improve your ability to walk forward. That is where we are going to start. Are you ready? Do a little of that each day until you can go for 10 minutes. Here is another video that explains and adds more versions. Bob & Brad on Youtube.com #kneesovertoesguy #barefootsprinter #kneepain #olderwiserbetter #walkbackwards #borntorun #olderfasterstronger  Here's to New Beginnings...
It's taken me a bit to find my voice again, but I still have things to say and can hopefully be a source of information in health, fitness and maybe just general shenanigans. While in my period of hibernation I've been studying and learning a lot about taking care of bodies that are older and wiser and I'm anxious to share and explore along with you. I hope you'll find the information useful. I've been exploring how to strengthen feet, knees and what types of movement and training can help eliminate pain and make moving more enjoyable. How simple changes in how we eat can effect glucose and weight. It doesn't require a gym membership or expensive coach. I'm going to show you ways to improve your lifestyle and fitness doing simple and easy things in just a few minutes a day. I might even <gasp> have to start doing videos again! My goal is to be able to keep up with my Grand kids and enjoy the body I was born with. Maybe I can share some things that can help you too. May this year be a great new beginning for all of us and let's look forward in wonder with childlike curiosity,  This year has been a challenge! Unique in that is was a challenge for pretty much every human on earth and yet felt so personal...at least in my own experience.
I could rail against all the injustice. All the wrong and terrible things that happened to me personally, our country and in the world but would any good come from that? For me, this year forced me to take a hard look at where I was in my life and where I was headed and what I really wanted. Looking back; I had a successful business, happy clients, great therapists I got to work with, a wonderful community and amazing and caring friends I had the pleasure of spending time with...then COVID! It is amazing how much has to happen to make changes. It took this kind of pandemic to cause me to re-evaluate what was important. I've always said how much I love my son and how much I miss him and his family, but I really loved my comfortable little life without any big adjustments or having to move out of my comfort zones. Oh sure, I had things I wanted to accomplish but realistically, how much effort was I putting in to actually doing the hard work? By September so many things had piled up that I couldn't ignore that I needed to make a decision about where my life was going and what was REALLY important to me. ACTION NOT WORDS! Nothing was working to keep things going. Too many problems kept cropping up and the rug pulled out from under me...I was forced to make drastic choices... In spite of all of what 2020 threw at me, I can say it was a good thing. I have relocated to a tiny town of 5300 people in upper Missouri and am 10 minutes from my son and grand daughters. I work at a small and locally owned hardware store and I'm exploring the possibilities in a completely new culture and lifestyle. I have no idea where this is headed, but am trusting that I will end up in a better and happier place...so far, so good. A while ago, several family members were sitting around and complaining about all they had endured so far. My daughter-in-law said, "Not for me. 2020 has been a great year. My husband is home more, I started a job I like and my family is closer." She made a good point. It has been a year of challenge but maybe there was a lot of good that was the result? My hope is that you also have blessings as a result of the difficulties of this year and can reflect in gratitude. Happy 2021 to all of you and a big virtual hug!!! P.S. Yes, I took a break. Several people contacted me asking that I continue writing...how humbling. I am so grateful for those that actually read this.  Things that have popped into my head during quarantine:
- walking on the beach, woman in front about 20 feet away, wind blowing toward me..."will I get sick if she exhales and I walk into her air?" - Is it against etiquette to pet someone's dog? Will one of us get sick? - I've noticed at the store I swerve, turn my head away from the person and don't breath. - How clean is too clean? - Looking for temporary work could be life-threatening. - Just laying awake in bed, do I get some kind of sleep points for that? Apparently my Fit Bit thinks I had a better night than what I thought. - Are cars practicing social distancing too or it just my imagination? I've had not tailgaters since the quarantine. - Is Corona Crazy gonna be a new mental health label? - Is Corona, the beer, gonna have a PR nightmare when this is over? Etc, etc., etc... Yep, I am getting in touch with that crazy side and figured others were too and wanted to help. There is a page on our website of information about what the Morro Bay Chamber is doing and lists of how businesses and services in our town are trying to meet the needs while their doors are closed. Mental health, fitness, leisure activities, etc. are on there and I'll be updating it as I get more. Click on the link below: https://www.morrobaymassage.com/homehealthyfitness.html I'm still working on how to do massage while practicing social distancing but haven't figure that out yet...stay tuned.  There is a theory that the American Indians couldn't see the ships of Columbus because they had no previous experience of that kind of structure and only saw them as they got close to the beach in the smaller boats. Without something familiar and similar there was no way to make a connection to something so foreign and the brain couldn't register the large ships.
My own personal experience of this pandemic has been similar. Back when I first heard there was a flu going around China, I just thought it was another SARS and didn't really pay much attention. My sister and her husband were finishing up a sail around the world and having their boat shipped from Singapore. They were having some difficulty with that, so this "flu" began to become more of something to pay attention too, but still not here and not a big deal. Even when it showed up in this country, I just thought it was another form of the flu we get each year and so I'd just make sure to stay healthy, still not registering how big this thing was. Even when the shelter in place came about, I figured that being a licensed health care provider, I'd just work on limited clients because several were concerned that we wouldn't be open and massage was their only relief. The numbers of infected kept growing and concern was becoming hysteria. Businesses were closing and I realized that in order to keep clients safe and not contribute to the problem, it was time to close. That was when the panic hit... In 2008 I had to close a mortgage business I'd loved and had for 10 years. I hit a perfect storm combining financial loss from a divorce, being new to this area and having the economy take a nose dive. I lost everything and was mostly unemployed for 3 years while the economy was recovering. It took a toll on my health and state of mind. In 2009 I realized I needed a new career and went to massage school. It has taken me 10 years to build a practice and business I love. COVID-19 has triggered old trauma, but given me a chance to practice new skills. The panic, fear, anxiety, grief and anger have been real and red hot. The emotional roller coaster was a wild ride for about the first week and now has subsided into a pretty steady pace of calm. I realized I needed to accept the situation and become OK with the reality of losing everything and having to start over, again. I took control by calling all my creditors, landlords and vendors and talking about the possibilities so I would know what to prioritize financially. I make sure I stay on a schedule and take care of myself, my critters and my environment. Each day I have one or two things to do so I feel productive and I make sure to keep a regular sleep and wake cycle. My breath and meditation practice has been a big part of staying balanced. Staying in contact with family and friends by phone or email has helped me feel less alone. Helping others and volunteering gives me purpose and something positive I am contributing. I know I will be OK and get through this. This time is a gift to really examine what is important and to practice my skills while in real crisis. I am curious to see where I am on the other side of this and am enjoying learning new skills and taking up new hobbies. Our shop is temporarily closed but that doesn't mean we aren't here. Feel free to reach out by email or phone and touch base. I hope you are well and staying healthy. I truly appreciate those of you that have shown your support by purchasing gift certificates. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS!!!  I'm not talking about health coverage or insurance policies. I'm talking about how YOU take care, or don't take care, of YOU.
Is your health important to you or do other people, events or "things" take first place and you fit YOU in where you can? Do you have an old injury that keeps talking and you know what needs to be done, but just can't find the time? The other day I was wandering down the alleys of my mind and considering all the ways we see people when they come in the door... Emergency Services: For a good portion of clients, we perform emergency services - they come in when they are hurting and in pain and looking for immediate relief. Stress might have taken over and their body can't function under the load. The pain killers aren't working and it just won't "go away". I think James Cameron was the one that said, "Hope is not a strategy". It also doesn't work too well on muscle spasms or nerve pain either. Crisis Management: If we aren't performing emergency services, many times we are assisting with crisis management. Someone has a pain or injury and maybe is even seeing a physical therapist until the pain or problem is gone. Then they stop the exercises and we don't see them until the next crisis. Maintenance: We have a good portion of clients that have felt how much the massage helped and are learning about taking consistent care of their body. These are usually clients with a chronic issues, trying to keep them at bay and avoid having a crisis. Prevention: We have a growing population of clients that come in for preventative bodywork. These folks see their health and wellness as the foundation of their life and know they can't do their best or be their best if they are in pain. They usually are the ones smiling when they walk in and floating out the door after their session. Maintenance and Prevention can sometimes be the same thing. Many older clients come in, having learned how helpful massage can be in functioning physically and many younger clients are coming in because they feel how much massage helps them manage their active and/or stressful lives. During this time of year, many of us are considering our health. How we approach it can be key to our happiness and wellness down the road. It is my own belief that the better we take care of ourselves, the better we can care for others and be in the world. As an admirer of Martin Luther King, I believe he would agree that to be a good peace keeper and caring for our corner of the world, includes ourselves. Be kind to YOU, take care of YOU, love YOU and you will have more to give. Anger and violence will be less a part of your life if you fill it with compassion, peace and love for yourself first and it will flow more easily to others.  You didn't sleep well. You feel achy, out of sorts, snifflely with a scratchy and sore throat, maybe you have a headache and your chest feels tight. Sounds like a massage should be the perfect solution, right?
WRONG! Your immune system is already working overtime to fight off what ever bug got you. Massage can be beneficial in stimulating an increase in immune response but if you are already sick, it will be like pouring gas on a fire and can actually make your system overload, thus you will feel worse. If you are having any sinus issues, laying face down for any length of time will only cause sinuses to be congested and increase nasal drip and coughing. Massage is best when you are no longer contagious and symptomatic. Maybe you have a lingering cough, but it has been at least 10 days since you felt sick. This is when massage can help loosen up tight areas that had all those aches and pains and when you will feel better. That is when massage can give your system a boost in getting rid of any lingering aches and pains. Not sure if you should schedule or cancel your appointment? If you are too sick to work, you should NOT get a massage. Our culture seems to think that "powering" through pain and illness is some kind of greatness. No. It is bad for you and inconsiderate of those around you. Are you really asking a massage therapist to lock themselves in a small, warm room that is the perfect environment for bacteria and virus to grow and expose themselves to whatever you have? When you go to work, school, shop or out and about when you are sick, you are sending out the message that you don't care about anyone but yourself. I know you don't mean to, but please don't expose me to your cold. I am a self-employed person that can't afford to lose days of work. Your cold might cost me hundreds of dollars, not to mention the discomfort. Things to Do When You are Sick: Stay Home Drink fluids Rest Stay warm Take a lot of vitamin C Echinacea is great to take at the first sign of a cold. It stops the virus or bacteria from growing. Wheat Grass tablets have natural antibiotic qualities Garlic - any form and lots of it Astragalus - great for the immune system Reishi - another immune booster Zinc - assists immune system (Sunshine Market has all these and more that can help you fight a cold. I would suggest you talk to Tim, in the supplement department.) Laugh - it stimulates immune system. Norman Cousins cured himself with it Look for Youtube videos on self-massage (there are tons of them) Read that book you've been trying to get to Have someone buy you tea: we have several that will help...Sniffle Tea, Feel Better, Throat Therapy and more.  Oh yeah, you know me, especially if you are pretty active. Runners and cyclists usually know me, but most the time we’re not very good friends.
I am tough and well connected. I like to keep things under control and monitor all the action, so treat me nice. If you just rub the outside of your thigh you’ll find me. If that is uncomfortable, then you haven’t been taking care of me. Let me tell you a little about myself… I am not muscle, but a tough fibrous fascia. I am that thicker part of the thin tissue that encircles all the muscles of the thigh. A good friend of mine, the Tensor Fascia Latae is a small muscle that is attached on top of me and to the hip crest. We are very close. From there, I am on my own, down the outside of the thigh and connect to just under your knee cap on the outside of the calf. You know it by the tenderness you usually find when you rub right there. I like running, walks on the beach, cycling, hiking and just about anything that is active. I’m not a big fan of just sitting around and if any of my surrounding neighborhood pals get out of balance, I can be a real pain. I told you about my friend, Tensor Fascia Latae, but there is also Gluteaus Maximus, who can be an ass sometimes, but we all love him. I am neighbors with Vastus Lateralis and we work together too. I’m the one that gets everybody working together. I help these guys with lifting your leg away from the body (abduction), rotating your leg, flex your thighs and stabilize your knees. In other words, if I’m not happy, you’re not happy and I can make your life miserable. I’m usually easy going, but you’ll know I’m unhappy if you feel pain on the inside of you knee, tightness on the outside of your leg or discomfort with extending your leg forward or sideways. A good way to keep me happy is to stretch using the long muscles of the body and yoga. Using a foam roller only smashes me into my buddy, Vastus Lateralis and doesn’t really do much good, so don’t use a foam roller on me. A good massage using fascia release will work too. So the next time you go for a walk, run, bike ride or any activity where you use your legs, do some stretching AFTER and you’ll keep the whole body, not to mention the muscles in the leg neighborhood, much happier!  No doubt about it we are living in interesting times. The length of time you’ve been on this earth probably reflects your level of disappointment in the direction humanity seems to be heading. Being middle-aged, I am not only concerned for my future but my son and granddaughter’s too.
Reading social media posts and talking to people, I get a sense of apathy, frustration, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that there is any hope of making a difference. It is easy to believe that we have no power for change, so why bother. It seems only big changes will help and being just one person…well, how can that do anything? Actually you do have power, lots of it. You can make a difference in your life, every day and in the lives of those around you. Morro Bay is a small town, if a few people take this attitude, it can have a benefit to our community. Even in big cities, this can be powerful. For example, last night I was in the checkout line at the grocery store and the guy in front of me was ready to pay and grabbed a lighter off the “impulse buy” shelf and put it on the conveyor belt. The clerk rang him up and it turns out he was a dollar short to pay for everything. I offered to pay the dollar and the guy was more than grateful. Now was the lighter for cigarettes and I could have lengthened his life by not buying the lighter? I don’t know. He was scruffily dressed and could have been without shelter or limited shelter and that lighter might have helped keep him warm. It was not my place to judge, but to do something nice. A dollar isn’t much, but who knows how much it was worth to that guy. I ended up feeling pretty good about that gesture and even though it was so little, it might have been huge for him. You never know how a smile, a kind word, an unexpected gift of food or service might make a difference to someone. At the Morro Bay Community dinner last month it was amazing to hear how grateful people were for the food and sharing with others. I was just the “mashed potatoe” girl and Kim was the “veggie” girl, but we sure saw a lot of smiling and happy faces. Many of them were people that are homeless or shut-ins that don’t go out much. It was so wonderful to see the room full of anyone and everyone sharing a meal regardless of circumstances. With current circumstances in the world, we need more kindness and where better to make a difference than in your own community and with those you share it with. Look for the stranger; the young over-whelmed mother, the senior that needs their trash put out, the person walking in the cold, the down and out person that could use a dollar to eat. |
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