Consistency (and Variety, too)

I talked myself out of going to the gym on Monday. The treadmill and elliptical just don’t excite me, so it’s easy to find an excuse to avoid these labors. But my heart and lungs need the aerobic activity, and my mind could use the interruption from occupational thoughts.

I recently read an article by Cyndi Schoenhals, a personal trainer and fitness writer. She outlined the many benefits of staying consistent (healthier habits, more energy, mental alertness) and gave excellent suggestions for how to stick with it. You can read her article at http://www.womensappeal.com/site/1386188/page/917978.

I circumvented the gym and was tempted to miss a day of exercise. After all, doesn’t watching Monday Night Football count for something? No, it doesn’t. I remembered Cyndi’s article, especially the part about having fitness goals, which helped me to remember mine. So I plugged in a new belly dance DVD and before long was breathing heavily (“thank-you,” said my heart) and enjoying myself at the same time.

The world presents us with many demands and choices, so it’s easy to get distracted from healthy behaviors. Consistency is the key to staying in shape, whether that’s staying true to a good diet or regular exercise. However, consistency doesn’t mean everything must be repetitive. After all, we don’t eat the same meal every day. Plus, we can injure ourselves when we engage in the same activity for too long. Variety is needed for the body as well as the spirit.

I’m glad I tried something new, but didn’t forfeit activity.

Next week, I’ll get on the elliptical and after a while will probably even find it pleasant. Afterwards, when I watch the Patriots and Bengals, I’ll feel that I’ve earned it by being staying true to healthy behaviors.

Exercise Strategies for Fibromyalgia

I’ve written an article about exercise, “Exercise Strategies that Work Like Magic” that has been published by Fibromyalgia Online (http://www.fmaware.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6161). The National Fibromyalgia Association offers many resources to help people with chronic pain (http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_nfa#programs), including this free, online newsletter.

In summary, my article offers three pieces of advice for exercising:
1) Add warm-up and cool-down periods to each session of exercise. In addition, stretch at the end of a workout, when your muscles are warm. If you stretch when cold, you increase the risk of tearing your connective tissue.
2) Lower the intensity of exercise so you don’t push yourself too far.
3) Pay attention to your body and let your symptoms determine how much you do at a time.

It’s important to exercise regularly, even when you’re not feeling your best. These guidelines can help you whenever you feel less than 100% so you can stay active and avoid injury.

Many people with fibromyalgia go undiagnosed for years, so they live with muscle pain (particularly in multiple trigger points), ongoing fatigue, and sleep problems. However, more doctors are getting educated about this disease, making a quick diagnosis more likely. Also, there are specialty clinics, including the Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Center (www.fibroandfatigue.com), which offers a unique treatment methodology.

If you know someone who has the symptoms of fibromyalgia, let her know that there is help available. The National Fibromyalgia Association (www.fmaware.org) and The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) both offer a range of services.

Opportunities to Learn Fluid Movement

I have scheduled several, upcoming undulation workshops so more people can learn about this movement so vital to good health. The organizations that are sponsoring the presentations have good information on their websites. It’s worth checking out a few of the links below.

Sept. 26, Wednesday, noon to 1:00 pm Sammamish Family YMCA, (www.seattleymca.org/page.cfm?id=sm) Free! “Fun Exercise to Nurture Your Back” A workshop in support of Active Aging Week sponsored by the International Council on Active Aging (www.icaa.cc/aaw.htm). To register call 425-391-4840.

Oct. 3, Wednesday, 7:00 to 8:00 pm Cambridge Naturals, Free! “Relieve Stress and Ease Back Pain with Undulation” To sign up call 617-492-4452. Whether you live in Cambridge, Massachusetts or not, I encourage you to look at this community health store’s website, http://www.cambridgenaturals.com/. They have a great selection of recipes and health information.

Oct. 7, Sunday, 7:30 to 8:30 am International Association of Structural Integrators Symposium Boston, (www.theiasi.org) Open class for all registrants.

Oct. 15 - Nov. 1, Mondays, 1:00 to 2:00 pm Issaquah Senior Center, “Fountain of Youth with Fun Movement” Just $39 for four classes. Sign up through Bellevue Community College Explore program at (http://at-campus.net/bcc2/ems/course/course.aspx?C=9255&pc=857&mc=1267&sc=)

Oct. 27, Saturday, 10:00 to 11:00 am I’ll be presenting at the Emerald City Writers Conference with New York Times bestselling author Stella Cameron (www.stellacameron.com) at the Bellevue Hilton, “Creating Sensual Scenes with Undulation.” If you’re a writer, this conference offers a variety of good workshops and networking. The cost for the weekend is $249. Sign up at (http://gsrwa.org/emerald_city_con/ECWC_Main.htm)

Nov. 3 or 4 Alive! Expo, Seattle Center. “Relieve Muscle Soreness with Undulation.” This two-day health and wellness fair features local and national natural product companies, alternative practitioners, chiropractors, health food retailers and community non-profit organizations showcasing information about their products and services. Tickets, which give you access to all booths and many speakers, are $10 on line or only $5 at Super Supplement locations. Get more information at http://www.aliveexpo.com/.

Nov. 10, Saturday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. If you’re a massage therapist who often works on muscles around the spine, you can benefit from this Continuing Education Workshop at Advanced Training Connections in Kent. “Undulation: A Tool to Improve Bodywork for the Spine.” 8 hours of continuing education credit. Sign up at http://www.advancedtrainingconnections.com/.

The Other 90%

Conventional wisdom tells us that we use only 10% of our brain capacity. Whenever I watch elite athletes, it occurs to me that most of us use only 10% of our physical capacity, while well-rounded athletes and yogis approach their full physical potential. Most of us desire to use more of our brains as we get older. Ironically, we usually desire to use less of our bodies.

The last time my husband, Michael, and I visited a park with playground equipment, he encouraged me to climb on the monkey bars. While I’ve never had much arm strength, I used to be able to “monkey around” for about five minutes. Now I loose my grip after ten seconds. I wouldn’t be able to save myself from falling off of a building or cliff like the heroines in the movies do.

And then there are the things that I can do, but I go out of my way not to. I would rather walk than run and ride than walk. I would rather clean the floor with a mop rather than a scrub brush. I like to skip, but limit how much I do to avoid odd glances.

In the park, Michael and I played on the swings. Now there’s an activity that I love to do, but I don’t swing often. I feel silly, as though swings are only for children. That’s too bad, because swinging is a great activity to build fluidity. It’s easy. It involves the entire body in a coordinated movement. It evokes emotion. All are components of fluid movement.

I remember when I stopped swinging. In the sixth grade, I considered it too childish, just like recess. I thought that women did not play. That was my first step into disowning my body. The second was in adolescence when I became acutely aware of how my body did not measure up to my standards.

After more than 25 years of dis-owning my body, I have spent the last seven years reclaiming it. Hellerwork was the first step for me. It helped me to reconnect and rediscover parts of myself that I had forgotten. I carry on with Hellerwork, yoga, bellydance, and other types of bodywork that peel away the layers that I hide under.

I always wanted to be able to do a handstand from a back bend and to do the splits. I’ve given myself five years to accomplish these goals, hopefully enough time to work into it without injuring myself. I expect to use more of that missing 90% by the time I’m 50 and even more when I’m 60.

Core Exercise

I recently went to a Core Yoga class offered by my chiropractor, Jill Massengill, D.C. (http://www.straightchiropractors.com/jill.html) As I was driving to her studio, I wondered if it would be a “hard core” or “real core” type of class. Most people think that working the core should be strenuous (as in this slide show from the Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/core-strength/SM00047), but actually core muscles contract subtly. Feeling them is more an experience of turning down intensity rather than revving it up. I wasn’t surprised, but I was pleased, when Dr. Jill helped us slow down and sink into subtle sensation so that we could activate the real core.

The core consists of four muscle groups: 1) the diaphragm, 2) pelvic floor, 3) transverse abdominus, and 4) multifidi. They act like a cylinder to stabilize the low back and abdominal cavity. The diaphragm is the top of the cylinder, the pelvic floor the bottom, and the transverse abdominus and multifidi make the circle part.

Unlike muscles that get worked at the gym, the core is designed to work slowly and for an extended period of time. That’s why many people fail to find or develop their cores when using the exercises like the ones from the Mayo Clinic—and the first 25 Google entries I found.

After much searching, I found an article by Susie Hately-Aldous that describes the incongruity between what people think a core exercise should do and what the core actually is. You can read it at: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Ultimate-Core-Exercise&id=716075.

I gave up my search before I could find a good core exercise for you from the internet. Here’s one that I teach my clients:
Engage Your Core by Using Your Feet, Part 1
1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet comfortably close to your buttocks.
2. Push down through your feet to push yourself “up,” as if you were getting “taller.”
3. Push with your heels only and notice how the line of force travels through your back.
4. Push with the balls of your feet and notice how the line of force travels through your front.
5. Push equally with the balls of your feet and your heels. Notice how much is on the inside and how much is on the outside arches.
6. Push evenly with your heels and balls with 60% weight on the inside arch, 40% outside.
7. Also try experimenting to find the push that travels up through your spine the most.

This is much easier than what most expect from a core exercise. But since so many of us are disconnected from our cores, we have to start by tuning into it.

Feel free to share your favorite core exercise.