Try THIS for balance!

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Lisa Jamison
Keeping the main thing the main thing:  Keep exercising, keep moving daily.  Remember, if you want to move better…you have to move better. 
16/40     Have a couple of  favorite exercises that you do…just about anywhere.  In the kitchen, between clients, after you walk up a flight of stairs at home.  “Big bang for you buck” moves that are always a challenge.  An enjoyable challenge!

Begin with body aligned, weight in opposite hand than standing leg

This is one of my favorite moves.  It’s also my “go-to” move when my back and leg pain flare up.  It checks my alignment from head to toe, putting that emphasis on my deep glutes, abdominals, and back muscles (yeah, the core).  As you move from start to end, it also checks shoulder stability, keeping the scapula tucked down and back, where it should be.  It also gives

Hips both face the same direction; shoulders stay set in their proper place; posture maintains alignment

me quick balance.  I wobble…I need work.  As the gluteals are activated to stabilize me, I can feel any inadequacy and laziness being pointed out.  Somedays I use weight and do a few to increase strength.  Doing just a few without any added resistance is a nice way to wake up a couple of my lazy muscles prior to any other workout.  And again, if I’m starting into some pain, this knocks mine right out.  

The training enthusiast in me also knows this is a great way to get an active stretch of the hamstring.  The yogis have been doing this for years.  See Tom T from Yogani Studios in Tampa helping me out here.  Tom begins with his chest raised, arms overhead, and free leg raised in front of him ( for a great static quad strengthener).  He then moves into Virabhadrasana III keeping that same spinal alignment throughout. 
 

Strength.  Balance.  Flexibility.  Stability.  Exercise.  Posture.  Different way up the same mountain.  Now that’s some “bigger” balance!

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Exercise | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All things Yin

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

When I began using Traditional Chinese Medicine as a staple in my medical diet, I understood a lot less than I do now…and I still ain’t no expert.  I’d get an explanation of why it worked because I needed to think and visualize getting “better”.  I’d study the roadmap of meridians that hung on the wall, and I’d try to make the old-school tradition fit into my very western-schooled brain.  The common theme that came with every explanation was Yin Chi.

 The yin-yang represents two opposites bound together, separate and yet intermingled.  The Taoists believe (uh, as we all do) that these separate forces rely on each other and need to live in harmony, balance.  The Yin is traditionally the black half of the symbol and literally means “north side of the hill”.  As this is the direction facing away from the sun and toward the shadows, it represents darkness, passivity, and reception (as opposed to delivery).  Yin energy is closely associated to the moon and all things that occur during the night hours (like sleep…).  It is considered the “female” half of the pair and is marked by intuition, sensitivity, and willingness to receive.  It is autumnal.  It is a shedding of leaves and a preparation for snow bound sleep.

And I am generally working on a deficit of these.  Like many of my friends, we like to move fast and talk fast and and cram as much into a day as we can.  On our “off hours” we take up our hobbies and recreation in a serious manner, knowing that if running is healthy, then marathoning is great.  Triathlon is best done on a long course.  And eating, well, eating is just a chance to refuel from said endeavor as well as a way to make tomorrow’s activity possible. 

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  It’s easy for me to get out of balance.  I know this, and I know that my Yin energy is what consistently suffers.  Stay off that merry-go-round. 

15/40     I will consider my Yin side daily.  Recovery from the day’s events.  Preparation for the days to come.  Time with girl friends and my sister.  Quiet activities…sitting in a chair.  Reading novels with my feet up, enjoying the sunset, and sharing the time with caring friends.

It won’t be easy…oh, yes it will.  I’ve been down this path before.  It’s well beaten once I clear out a couple of vines.  I like this one, and I do believe this will take me happily into dusk.

breakfast, a little sloppy on last week’s exercise (need it to be a little more in the “conditioning” department!), didn’t get all my days of breathwork, balancing act and posture in check, scapula are sooooore, picking up garbage is my new gig, building fires and colorful plates when I eat, ab work…OK, hanging out with friends, taking the stairs two at a time (need to run the suckers).  Having a plan and sticking to it.

 

 
Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Recovery, Rest, Yin | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a new day!

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

An interesting quote from Mark Victor Hansen, in light of my last post: 

Lack of forgiveness causes almost all of our self-sabotaging behavior.

 

But today is new day!  A new week!  A new experience! 

Don’t wait until everything is just right.  It will never be perfect.  There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions.  So what.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful. (Mark Victor Hanson)

Today was a beautiful fall day here in Tampa.  I had an early morning run with SJV.  We’re up to eight miles.  Again.  And we’re glad that we’re doing it, no matter what our watches say!  To church.  To Home Depot.  To Target.  Making a couple of pots of stuff that’s good for me to eat this week. 

It’s a new day and a new week.  May it be a good one for you!

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Musings | Tagged | 1 Comment

Don’t sweat the small stuff…

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

…and it’s all small stuff.

Seriously. A little perspective goes a long way!

Yesterday was Saturday.  I should have been posting some sage, or at least healthy advice.  I wasn’t.  My friend GO (how cool are those initials?) and I went riding in the early morning.  It was a little windy, we got a little displaced (men never really get lost), I got a little tired, and we were out there a  little longer than anticipated.  Picture the rolling farm terrain of Gibsonton and the “city” of Balm.  Didn’t see one Carnie, if that’s what you’re wondering. 

Then I raced off (really, a minute late!) to a training class.  Out at 7:00 am, in at 8:00 pm, and quite tired.  I had my obligatory glass of cheap wine while I tried to figure out what I’d healthily cook for dinner…

…and I fell asleep.  Truly not sweating the small stuff.  And it was all small stuff. 

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  it’s really nice to set a goal and stick to the “training” plan to the letter.  But sometimes that just doesn’t work.   I’ll try  my best.

14/40     I will try my best during this “season” of getting my life into better balance, but if I have an off  day, I’ll shake it off.  Because in the long run, nobody’s really keeping score.

I had an “unstable” and or “inconsistent” couple of days.  I seemed to be beating myself up a little for stuff I was forgetting to do.  That’s OK.  But you know, that is WAY different than remembering and just not doing it.  So I feel good!

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Musings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Please SuperSize my Happy Meal!

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

My Mom is a wise sage.  Maybe she’s just a smart woman, a good mother, and a fine teacher.  My first nutrition lessons came early in life.  At first, she lead by example.  She baked our bread and our cookies, we didn’t have soda, we had salad at every dinner, we ate a wide assortment of foods (“just in case we ever had them at a social function, we’d know what they were and we’d be able to stomach them”).  I remember her asking me to select two vegetables to have with dinner.  What do you think I said?  I was a kid.  Corn.  And potatoes.  Potatoes…”a starch”, she would say.  OK, now pick one that isn’t a starch.  And “corn is kind of a useless vegetable”.  My apologies to the corn growers in the world.  We’d discuss, argue, and eventually have to pick something green (in addition to the salad, which was “ruffage”). 

I learned to love the food (duh, you know that.  I L-O-V-E to eat!), and I love the flavor of the real food itself.  I’m not into marinades, sauces, butter, salt.  I like the plain stuff.  I just like the taste of the food; it makes me happy!!

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  I’m working on a more balanced diet.  Breakfast is going well, and that has trickled down to good lunch and snacks. 

Mom said, if all else fails, that a balanced diet looks like a rainbow.  The more colors in each meal, the better.  The more colors in the day, the more nutritious.  Rainbows…they’re happy!!  Just go for the color. 

14/40     Dinner will be colorful and HAPPY!

I eat my red tomatoes, almost daily.  Oranges prove to be a good post-training snack for me.  Yellow tail wine is a cheap and economical source of…uh, I think it’s a serving of fruit (note to Mom, Kim told me that).  Greens are to be eaten daily, and brocolli is a good default vegetable.  So is spinach.  And arugula!!  When it’s in season.  Blueberries are divine, as is the assortment of berries I adore…adding violet.

When I entertain, I don’t set an ornate table.  Colorful, yes.  And, Mom, just so you know, I get compliments on that.  And I think of you when I do.  And that…well, it makes me happy. 

And on my road to more balanced living, I’ll take a big dose of that!

 Life is good…I’ve made some good decisions, and am acting on setting myself up “in life”…differently…exercise is good…I believe this in a Yin week…getting a good handle on food and shaking off a couple of pounds…my back feels good, my abs feel tight, and I’m not feeling pain.  I tribe has been present…and I’m happy.

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Food, Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A fork in the (economic) road

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

No doubt, we’re in strange economic times.  Sometimes you keep doing what you’re doing…because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s what you’ve been taught to do, because it’s always worked for you. 

And sometimes, perhaps times like now, it’s time to re-evaluate those “things”.  Good and proseperous and savvy business people would tell you to do that regularly.  But sometimes you just don’t want to evaluate anymore, you just want to “do”.  To “be” the best person you know how to be and do work that fulfills you.

Yeah, I’m not talking about the proverbial “you” and “people”.  In my quest for  balanced living I often leave that little slice of the pie chart for later.  That fork in the road…not taken.  There might be hurdles on that track; I’ve already told you how much I dislike those.  The roadblock might be there and I wouldn’t want to waste my time.  However, I seem to have myself stuck in a rotary of sorts.  It’s a strange rotary…the more I go around, the better I get at it.  I don’t think I’m just getting better at chasing my tail, really.  I think, I know that I’m getting better at what I DO. 

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  when it comes to balance, you need to look at vocation and economics.  I won’t avoid it…

So do I jump off the rotary?  Do I wait for the proper road to be completed and be the first to travel it?  Or should I radio ahead, listen to the traffic report, try to read the signs?  I don’t know.

We’re in strange economic times.  I’m in strange economic times.  I look at my business card and my website and I read REALIGN.  REEDUCATE.  REBUILD.  I’ve begun to take a little of my own advice.  And I have no idea where these roads are going.

12/40     No avoidance.  I’ll evaluate.  Realign my thoughts, get some training if needed, and rebuild (or add on, or remodel).

Time passes and you must move on,  Half the distance takes you twice as long,  So you keep on singing for the sake of the song,  After the thrill has gone.  (The Eagles)

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Money | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday to Me!

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

And here’s the invitation to my party.  It’s early, so you’ll have time to shop.  Or train.  Whatever.

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  Keep moving, keep exercising, and keep doing things that make me happy.  Change it up a little!

Climbing stairs is a great thing.  I have a three story townhouse, so it’s a little bit of necessity for me.  After I had knee surgery a couple of years ago, I was glad for the stairs.  I got to practice walking properly.  It forced me to bend my knee, it was good strengthening for my quads.  Whether I liked it or not, I had to do…therapy. 

I tell me clients to take the stairs instead of taking the elevator.  NEWSFLASH**If you work on the 25th floor, you don’t have to do all 25 flights; you can take a couple of flights and then get on the elevator.  Walk on the escaltor.  Take the stairs two at a time.  Run up the stairs.  It’s easy to add a little more exercise into your day if you’re time pressed.  Be practical.

So here’s the invitation:  start now and let’s get ready for the 6th Annual Fight for Air CLIMB in Tampa.  March 26, 2011 (that’s the day before my birthday.  Bring cake, please.)  It’s 42 floors, 914 steps.  If you sign up before 1/1/11 it’s a mere $15.  They ask that you raise a minimum of $100 for the American Lung Association, a relatively easy goal.

So what do you say?  Care to join me?  I’ll be forming a team…more details to come.  If you’re not local, come for a visit!  There will be a party, and we will be eating cake! 

11/40     I will use the stairs to help get my glute and thigh strength back to where it needs to be.  And I’ll channel that energy into doing something positive for somebody else!

And it will all lead up to a fun competition and a party!  Are you in?

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Exercise, Stair Climbing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Butterfly

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

Any Monarchs out there looking for a good time?

I’m a social creature.  I love to be with people.  I love good conversation, debate.  I love to laugh, and have a tendency to bellow more than giggle or demurely smile.  I like to get dressed up and attend, and I like to curl up and accompany, be. 

But those who know me best know that I have a tendency to hole up.  I don’t think I do it in an attempt to escape or hide, and I’m not sure if it’s an attempt to hibernate.  One may call it “nesting”, but that may imply I’m creating the perfect home for my little chickadees…of which I have none.  Sometimes I do it when I’m blue.  In any event, it happens.

Keeping the main thing the main thing:  we are social creatures and part of the living balance is that we will commune, have fellowship, seek relationships of all kinds.

I used to not have people to my home because it was too small.  When I’d go to other small dwellings I’d realize that was a foolish thought.  I’d not have people to my humble residence because so many of my friends live in far more lavish…damn lavish…houses.  I’m a lousy cook.  What if nobody shows up?  Whatever.  When I DO have people for a visit I enjoy myself and wonder why I don’t do it more often. 

10/40     I will concentrate on my “socialness” and be cognizant of spending more time with people…friends, dates, acquaintances.

Sometimes this is easy and a natural progression of the activities I participate in…coffee after church, breakfast after biking, my church small group.  Sometimes it’s part of the up-and-down dating life of being a single woman.  Truth is, I’ll probably only be in Florida for a couple more years, and I’ve got to spend as much time with these people, those people, my people. 

So what’s everyone doing this weekend?

I love breakfast.  I do believe it’s a habit already!!  And my lunches are getting a little more normalized, too!  Fire in me belly!

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Social Butterfly | Tagged , | Leave a comment

And the winning number is…

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

Reverse Crunch, pelvis up

250.  Yup; 250.  And that’s how many reps for our abdominals we’re going to start doing.  Keeping the main thing the main thing:  I’m exercising 5-7 days a week.  Keeping active on those off days.

Why 250?  In the mid-80’s I was sure it was a good number of crunches/sit ups/ leg raises to get done during each session.  I tried to come up with some reserarch on the subject, but there wasn’t.  I just believed that we should gut through, and I did.  My clients would look at me like I was nuts (or were they doing that anyway?).  I wouldn’t argue.  I’d just say that 250 was do-able, and they could do it all at once, or stop when they needed to.  They would all take that as a direct challenge.  Within a week of getting the assignment, they would all be doing them.  Yes, some would take a break every 50 at first and some would have to keep making the exercises more difficult, but they would all do 250. 

While at a coaching clinic with USA Triathlon in the early 2000’s a presenter hit us with 500.  Yes, he had research (he said), but don’t make him dig it up.  It just made good sense.  We should all be doing 500, and so should our athletes.  I’m OK with that…25 if you’re a health and fitness buff, 500 if you’re an athlete.

During the last decades I’ve been much less about “rolling around on the floor” and more about running around to get the work done.  I still believe that things like medicine balls and big giant ropes and hauling stuff and climbing hills fast is the best way to get your mid-section to function properly.  That said, I’m trying to get my 250 going again.   

9/40     As often as possible in a workout…gym, home gym, bored watching TV and thinking about it…I will do my ab-crunches.  In all honesty, I’m not going to lie down on Bayshore Blvd. and do then, and I probably won’t do them poolside.  But I WILL be more aware of them times that I CAN do them, and try to get them in daily.  Pre-yoga class?  Between clients? 

I can almost see my six-pack!

Basic Crunch

 
Start of the week…renewed after a glorious weekend…busy week ahead…started with a good breakfast each morning, sitting up straight as I type, balance move while waiting for oatmeal in the microwave (2:30 on one leg without falling).  Lots of hours of work ahead, and I’m ready for it.
 

Regular or Oblique Crunch, legs up

Oblique Crunch

Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Exercise | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still Waters

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Lisa Jamison

Still waters. Sandwich, Cape Cod

 
 
 
Balance is the perfect state of still water.  Let that be our model.  It remains quiet and is not disturbed on the surface.  (Confucius)
Posted in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Musings, Recovery, Rest | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment