Month: August 2018

Learn to be comfortable in precarious predicaments

Let’s start from the bottom and build ourselves up

 

  1. Lie on the ground and have a partner hold onto one of your legs – Move with your held and free leg to bring the partner down and free yourself
  2. Lie on the ground and have a partner drag you by one leg – Move with your entire body to entangle them and free yourself
  3. Lie on the ground and have two partners grab one leg each (not much choice there) – Move to entangle the partners so they cannot focus on you and free yourself as you do so
  4. Lie on the ground and have a partner hold on to one arm and move to stomp on you with their legs – Move to bring their legs together and down and free yourself
  5. Lie on the ground and have a partner sit on your back and strike you with control – Move to avoid taking the strikes in (less tension and more movement) and roll free of the hold
  6. Lie on the ground and move to get up with your knees and heels touching and with your partner pushing you down constantly
  7. Lie on the ground and move to get up with arms stuck to your sides and with your partner pushing you down constantly
  8. Lie on the ground and move to balance on your shoulder blades (shoulder stand) as your partner pushes you down constantly (who needs sit ups J )
  9. Lie on the ground and move to reach a sitting position as your partner sits on your legs and pushes you down constantly
  10. Lie on the ground and move to lie on your back as your partner pushes you to lie on your stomach constantly

 

Learning can always be fun – just let your limits expand

Morning breath work

Many wake up and jump out of their bed.

Here is a protocol to prepare the body for a smoother entrance into the day using breath and awareness.

Remember – Take care of the mechanism

First – breathe and listen for the pulse (placing your hand on the side of the neck or just being aware) Coordinate the breath to rhyme with the pulse and extend your inhale and exhale to encompass more heartbeats but without pressing. With time, it will release tension held in the body and psyche.

Second –  Breathe and tense a body part on the inhale, Release the tension once you begin the exhale and repeat for the entire body. With time, it will increase awareness to excess tension and you will let go of it without fighting yourself. Awareness wins.

Third – Exhale and hold your breath using the least amount of tension in the throat (tip from a diving coach) and diaphragm. Count heartbeats until your body tells you to inhale and wait a bit more before you gently inhale. With time, your psyche will connect and interpret body signs with greater clarity and your range of calm under pressure will increase.

 

With all things use moderation but keep plowing ahead.

Steps to have a better moving vessel

Posture today seems to be a silly word. We expect Captain America to stand tall but fail to recognize that it is a significant part we can improve in our health, movement and even self-worth. The way we hold ourselves transmits our image back to the nervous system and it is a free healthy way to improve inside and out.

Here are ten simple and easy movements to improve the posture.

  • The hard part is the consistency but that is where the true magic lies.
  1. Vacuum holds – Press your back to the wall or lie down, Exhale for a number of heart beats (start low and aim high) and hold while pulling the stomach in and up and creating a vacuum. Release slowly  and repeat three times a day. Allow for the heartbeat to normalize between each time.
  2. De Vinci wall press – lean your back to the wall with your feet between one to two steps away from the wall. Place your arms parallel to the ground and with an inhale press them straight backwards and raise your body straight forward. Hold for a breath and release on the exhale. Repeat thirty times and play with angles and distance from the wall to find the right angle for right now.
  3. Wall head swivels  – Stand a step away from a wall and place your hands one over the other on the top of your head. Touch the top of your hands  on the wall and circle in place, creating a revolving light neck bridge. Avoid leaning on the wall and simply allow the movement to ease tension out naturally. Perform ten turns in each direction.
  4. Wall bridge walking side to side – Stand a step away from the wall and facing away from it. Arch the entire spine and raise your arms to form a bridge on the wall. Use your breath as tempo and body shifts to walk side to side on the wall. Walk twenty double steps in each direction.
  5. Wall bridge walking down and up – Stand a step away from the wall and facing away from it. Arch the entire spine and raise your arms to form a bridge on the wall. Use your breath as tempo and body shifts to walk up and down on the wall and relax your hips, knees and ankles to spread the load evenly. Walk 20 double steps up and down and let the comfort of breath determine depth.
  6. Low walking – Keep your torso perpendicular to the ground and relax your hips, knees and ankles to lower yourself to half a full squat. Keep your hip bone in line with the spine instead of allowing it to hinge and walk by relaxing from leg to leg and letting the breath lead the tempo. Do sixty  double steps playing with direction and turn at will.
  7. L sit hold – Sit on your behind with your legs straight together. Inhale and raise yourself by pressing your fists downward at the sides of your hips and tensing the body as much as needed to maintain the body and legs in the air. Hold for sixty breaths.
  8. Air walking while hanging on a bar – hang on a bar or tree limb with palms facing forward (pull up position) Use your breath as tempo and walk in the air forward and back and twist your body to “walk” side to side. Let the body release the compression and build tissue health naturally while releasing tension. Do sixty double steps.
  9. Stomach to back rolls with all limbs in the air – Lie on your back or stomach and suspend all limbs and head in the air. Breathe and roll your body from front to back and allow the body to align and lead from the center outward. Play with where you start the motion to renew the natural ingenuity of the body. Do twenty turns in each direction but keep it from becoming a momentum movement.
  10. Sleeping with no pillows – Letting your spine rest when you rest – We are meant to keep the spine relaxed and pillows tend to bend the spine for hours a day. Lie down and find a position of comfort with a relaxed natural spine. Let go of excess.  Sleep well while you can 🙂