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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. 
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!!! |
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