Day 3 TFC - Aligned, Relaxed & Resilient

Today’s assignments are near and dear to the hearts of structural integrators as they are based on intention and alignment. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished simply by starting with an intention that is developed into an affirmation. And, while today’s alignment exercises may be considered by some as too easy, the repeated daily insults of misalignment are the root of so many painful knee, hip, spine, and shoulder problems. It’s worthwhile to take the time to improve daily alignment in all activities.

1. Evaluate the physical activities from yesterday: aerobics, wall sit, forward bend, and stretches. Based on how you feel today, give each one of them a “thumbs up,” “thumbs down,” or “not sure” grade for future reference.


2. Write 5 affirmations and say them aloud. Here’s a great post about affirmations.


3. Alignment practices:  These “exercises” can be incorporated into your daily routine to strengthen your core and reduce wear and tear on your joints and connective tissues. 
 

4. In good seated alignment, develop a full breath. With each breath, get your breath bigger.  Each inhale feel more of your ribs expand, in the back, sides, and front, all the way down to your kidneys, in your armpits, and up to your collar bones.  With each exhale, draw your belly button toward your spine and your waist in from the sides, engaging more of your abdominal muscles with each exhale.  Find your maximum comfortable breath for today.

Day 2 TFC - Breathing, Assessment, Intentions

Yesterday we assessed our range and quality of motion. Today we are going to continue to assess aspects of our fitness. There are more exercises than usual today, but each one is short.

1.     Sit comfortably with good posture or lie down and breathe through your nose.  Keep your jaw relaxed but closed and breathe consciously for 5 minutes. If you feel anxious, try inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. If you still feel anxious, stop the exercise and breathe naturally for the rest of the time. Breathing through your nose activates the parasympathetic (calming) nervous system and also uses more intrinsic muscles in your chest. It’s a habit worth developing.

2.     Keeping your heart healthy is one of the most important parts of fitness. Do your typical aerobic exercise and measure your heart rate 5 minutes into the exercise and at the height of your aerobic activity. Then stop exercising for 2 minutes and measure your heart rate again. Write down the numbers. Using this webpage, determine: a) if you are exercising within your target range, and b) your Heart Rate Recovery. 

3.     Time how long you can comfortably do a wall sit (instructions here) and write down the length of time you held the sit and the approximate angle of your thighs.  Keep your knees in line with your middle toes the entire time. “Comfortably” means that you aren’t wishing you were somewhere else, that you can breathe deeply, and that you can stand up again without groaning or hurting. (You can count seconds in your head, or you can use a stop watch.)

4.     Test your flexibility. It is important to do this test with no pain. Standing with slightly bent knees, bend forward to see if you can touch the ground. If so, notice if your fingers or palms touch.  If not, measure how far from the ground your finger tips are.  Bend your knees, stand up carefully and write down your results. (Skip this assessment assignment if you have low back or sacrum troubles.)

5.     Stretch. 

6.     Write down your intentions for the next 20 days. Do you have any specific goals or aspirations? How would you like to feel when you are finished with this challenge?  As much as possible, be specific and include your desired emotions.

You will want to refer back to your results later in the challenge, so please write them down somewhere you can find them later. (You are welcome to report on the Facebook page if you’d like.) And one more thing, keep drinking water.
 

Day 1 TFC - Breathing, Water, Scheduling, Range of Motion

Congratulations on your decision to take better care of yourself with the Therapeutic Fitness Challenge (TFC). Your consistent work with this program will pay rewards of improved health and peace of mind. True fitness is a comprehensive endeavor. Therefore, the assignments in the TFC are well-rounded, targeting the mind-body-energy connection.

This program is not intended to replace professional medical care

nor contradict medical advice you may have received.  

If you experience physical discomfort or anxiety,

stop and consult your medical advisor.

And for today, the assignments are:

1) Spend 5 minutes noticing your breath. Extend your exhale so it is at least as long as each inhale.  (But limit this exercise if it causes any anxious feelings.)

2) Schedule 30 to 60 minutes a day in your calendar for the next 21 days to do the challenge (or 36 days if you are doing the challenge every other day).  The time can be continuous or in 2 or 3 chunks of time throughout the day.

3) Get a water bottle and find out how many times you'll need to fill and drink the water in it to get 2 quarts a day.  Your connective tissues require water for health.  Start to get in the habit of drinking that much every day.

4) Do the range of motion assessment exercises.  The links are below.  Please note that there is not a video component for today’s assignment. I prefer for you to be entirely focused on your body as you explore your range of motion. I divided the exercise into three segments so you can determine the right amount to do for your body. Although these exercises seem simple, they most likely will be moving your joints and muscles in unusual ways.  So start with the first one and if you aren't sore move to the second, and then if you're still feeling OK, do the third.  All together they will take 40 minutes.

 

Range of Motion exercise #1
 

Range of Motion exercise #2
 

Range of Motion exercise #3

In addition to noting the quantity of your motion, the range, please also consider the quality of motion. I am recovering from a repetitive stress injury in my left wrist/thumb/arm (quite frightening to a structural integrator, I assure you). In the process of healing, I have noticed the grabby, jerking way I typically use my left hand. No wonder it got hurt! I am consciously trying to grasp fluidly, like an octopus not a robot, in addition to being careful when lifting. As you listen to and follow the range of motion “videos” be aware of how you move as much as how much you do.

Make a note of your range of motion limitations for future reference. For example, if you experience discomfort when you raise your arm to shoulder height, you will need to modify or not do any exercise that involves lifting your arms higher. If rotating your thigh causes discomfort in your low back, you want to be careful of twisting motions.

Pre-Planning for the Therapeutic Fitness Challenge

When starting a new activity, it's helpful to be more mindful to avoid injury (in addition to checking in with your trusted health advisor). Here are questions to ask yourself about your activities: 

• How do I feel today?
• What activities from yesterday/today were particularly helpful?
• What activities from yesterday/today might have exacerbated my symptoms?
• How will I modify or replace those activities if they come up again?

Please print this page so these questions are handy. Whether you like to journal or not, please include these questions in your daily observations.

If you are prone to injury when you exercise, you might consider the course I taught on Understanding and Healing from Soft Tissue Injuries. It includes two hours of information, plus questions and answers, and an audio yoga practice.

Therapeutic Fitness Challenge 2014 Begins January 5

I don't know about you, but due to the hectic season I got off track with my regular exercise and I ate too many (gluten-free) cookies. I am looking forward to reestablishing my fitness routine in 2014. (Although I'd like to think I would start sooner, I'm still catching up.)

If you are someone who has difficulty exercising because of an injury or illness, I invite you to participate in my free Therapeutic Fitness Challenge. I created this program for clients who I consider "fragile," those who are particularly prone to flare ups from exercise. Based on feedback from the beta test completed in October, I have made improvements and will have the new program ready to go on January 5th.

This is a 18-day program that can be completed in three weeks, one month, or any timeframe that suits you. Each day will include three assignments that together will take from 30 to 60 minutes. The assignments will include a breathing component, a physical component, and a mental component. Like other fitness challenges it is meant to require a commitment, but unlike other programs of this sort it will not test how much you can do, but how well you can discriminate between what is good for you and what is not. The most important part of the challenge is to be consistent, devoting at least a half an hour a day to your health and learning when you need to rest.

Many of the assignments are demonstrated on a YouTube video by yours truly. They can be done in the comfort of your home at your convenience. 

 

There are several ways for you to participate:

• Starting January 5th, check back here for the assignments. (Perhaps even add this blog to your website favorites.)
• Sign up to receive email reminders. Many people in the beta test enjoyed receiving an email with an overview of the assignments and links to keep them motivated and on track. You can sign up to receive the emails daily for three weeks or every other day with the idea to complete the program in a little over a month. If you want to receive email reminders, reply to this message and let me know if you want to be on the daily or every-other-day list. If you'd like the reminders, please sign up before January 4 by sending an email to anita@anitahellerworker.com with a note about whether you'd like to get daily emails or notices every-other day.
• If you are on Facebook, you can access links to the assignments on the Undulation Exercises page. You can ask questions there that I'll answer, and you'll also receive answers and encouragement from others taking the challenge. A link to the Facebook page is included in the upper right corner of this blog.
• You can also recommend the program to people who know who could benefit by passing this message along to them.

There will be no charge for the program; it's free! although there will be ads on a few of the YouTube videos. I am happy to coach participants who want or need a little extra encouragement, explanation, or caution via Skype or telephone for a fee of $30 for a 15-minute consultation. I am available for TFC consultations on Mondays. If you have a structural integrator or yoga therapist near you, you could also contact them for private consultation.
 
I hope you enjoy participating in the TFC and that it helps you become more fit and aware of your body's needs.