Blog - The Curious Mover
More Adventures in Gluten Free: BREADS
One Sunday morning, I woke up with the burning desire to fulfill a mission…I wanted to go on the hero's journey of attempting to make homemade gluten free bread that actually tastes delicious.
I searched for gluten free bread recipes with a certain criteria. So many recipes required so many ingredients. As a baking-philic wife of a gluten intolerant man, I have MANY flours and starches, so if the recipe called for a flour I actually didn’t have, I passed. Until I found the perfect one…. I had all the ingredients - here’s to a wing, and an uncardboardy tasting prayer. And made the sign of the Star of David for some extra!
Gluten free baking has its challenges. I try to reduce the amount of gluten in general, so it’s worth exploring other options. The picture looked so beautiful, I was convinced mine would NOT look as nice, but I was wrong!
Should I STAY or Should I GO?
To exercise or not to exercise? That is the question!
When will exercise help shift you out of feeling tired or when does your body need the rest? These are great questions to ask, but the answer is, it depends. It helps to develop a skill of listening and asking your body.
I can’t even count the number of times clients come in and tell me how tired they are, only to leave feeling better and revived. That’s the beauty of movement! I make sure in those sessions to give more flow to honor tired, but just the right push to achieve that shift. I always encourage communication with clients about how they are feeling during a session so I can adjust what movement direction I go in next. But when do we go and when do we skip exercise?
Memoirs - Stories of the Living
I seem to have been drawn to many memoirs this year, all alive and ever inspiring. I have 5 books to recommend. Two for their wild lives as famous artists, and three for a peek into a different culture. All books have themes of perseverance, hard earned life lessons, courage, words to live by, and inspiration, all told in the first person. I listened to all of these except for the last one. The beauty of audiobooks is getting to “read” so many books while walking. So if you want more exercise and reading, get an audiobook and get walking! A good book and a beautiful walk may be one of the best parts of your day. It’s definitely a highlight of mine.
The Metaphor of Spring
In Pilates, we use springs as resistance rather than weights. That’s not really news to anyone, but let’s take this metaphor of spring a lot further, especially in this Spring season! Let’s apply the spring to muscles: pulling the spring open (lengthening) followed by closing it (contraction). Just like the two phases of muscle actions: the lengthening or load phase, and the contraction or shortening phase. I see more emphasis on the contraction phrase, but not enough on the lengthening, resulting in short and contracted muscles, which leads to pain and tightness.
The Mid Line- PART 2
In Part 2, we go into the importance of the inner thighs and their connection. You heard of the rotator cuff of the shoulder? It is made up of external and internal rotators to stabilize the shoulder joint. These five inner thigh muscles are considered the inward rotators of the hip, and with the six external rotators complete the “rotator cuff” of the hip, but have roles to stabilize and move the body. When I think inner thighs, it's hard not to think of the thigh master infomercial with Suzanne Somers. I am here to tell you, they are so much more muscle than to jam a contraction in and squeeze! We have the magic circle in Pilates, a somewhat similar contraption, but hopefully you also have a teacher that guides the connection of the inner thighs into the core cylinder.
That’s a Wrap - The Deep Six: The Bridge PART 1
The deep six. Sounds like a rock band, or maybe it's because I just finished Daisy Jones and The Six (highly recommended) all about a rock band. Ever wonder why Pilates foundation work is so big on wrapping six tiny muscles around the back of the pelvis? When I meet a beginner to the practice of Pilates, they can be so strong, but chances are these six little muscles have never been introduced. They are the bridge on the back of the leg: Connecting the foot down into the ground, then back up the leg, crossing that deep six bridge to the pelvic floor, the base of the core.
Do you Zoom?
Have you taken a class with me on Zoom or FaceTime? You might not know you are missing out...but it’s true! Taking classes online is not the same, because it is different. It seems as if it would not be as effective as in person with a full studio of equipment, but I am here to surprise you - the results of a 2 year exploration are in!
Exercises for your EYES
In this day and age of getting information, entertainment, learning, reading, shopping, conducting leisure and work on screens, eye strain is common. Symptoms of eye strain can be dry, burning, itching, and watering eyes, blurry vision, headache or neck strain to name a few. The neck muscles help the eye-head coordination, but it could also be the positioning of how you hold your head while looking at your computer, tablet, or phone, which also contributes to neck pain. We can literally get sucked in, looking forward by jutting the chin forward and straining the cervical spine. Although, we are not focusing on the ergonomics of screen posture here, I am going to focus on your eye fitness. I have some great exercises for you to try! There are 6 voluntary muscles that move your eye, and non voluntary muscles/other components inside your eye that control your vision. It may not improve your vision, but toning these muscles and improving blood circulation will reduce your eye strain, and further reduce deterioration. Don’t think you are getting off easy, these exercises are surprisingly hard. Shall we get our eye fitness class started?
Recipes for February
It’s been a minute since I posted some of my favorite healthy meals. The first two, in particular, were perfect for the lunar new year, which perhaps was a subconscious inspiration, or can be a wonderful meal for your partner, your kids, or a dear friend. I made all these dishes for my family, since my husband is not a meat eater. I was inspired to get back to my protein and vegetable days of eating. That’s where I feel the best, but that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Some people thrive as a vegetarian or vegan, so it’s good to know what kind of foods nourish you the most. Nonetheless, if you like protein and vegetables, these recipes are keepers! These 3 recipes verge towards paleo, meaning there is no dairy or gluten. I have made these recipes twice, so I will put in my two cents and suggestions.
Get on UP with a breakDOWN: Part 2
Hopefully for the last two weeks, you have been practicing your get up movement without weight. Good form and understanding of each step is very important, as well as having the basic required strength acquired before you load it up. If you have been so diligent as to practice your get up as a January goal, your next step is here. You have earned the right to load it with weight. This creates a whole different strategy of work but you want to heed some precautions mentioned below.
Get on UP with a breakDOWN: The Turkish Get Up
I have chosen one of my go to full body exercises that works everything, The Turkish Get Up. Not only does this exercise work the whole body, but it’s valuable for a functional reason. It will keep you mobile and strong to get up from and down to the floor. That action is lifesaving. Ironically and unfortunately, that movement tends to be avoided as we get older. We will lose it if we don’t use it, and it is important at any age to be able to get off of the floor. Gravity is a constant companion during our lifetime, and it doesn’t discriminate, so we can fall at any age.
A New Year Protocol
More than once in my conversations, I found people don't have this information yet. I thought it would be more helpful to start 2022 by sharing this protocol. With Omicron surging, researchers have found and are still studying some other methods that might help mitigate, cut down, or reduce your chances of getting sick. I am not a doctor, but this hygiene practice has worked well for me. Without getting into politics, identity, religion, race, or inoculation status, it’s just a suggestion for adding an additional level of protection to the one you already have in place, and you can get it at a drugstore, so why not.
Non Fiction Favorites
Yes, I have strayed away from my paradoxical love of baking, offering book suggestions rather than recipes. But here’s an exercise tip! I listened to all of these as audio books while walking, so you don’t even have to sit around to read. I walk a lot, therefore I “read” a lot! You can get your exercise on and book in too! Although it still seems like a time to escape reality with fiction, these books stimulate and inspire. They make great gifts as well!
Lengthen While You Sleep
In a Pilates session, I cue you a jillion times to lengthen your spine actively away from your legs, but lengthening while you sleep sounds like a whole not a lot of effort dream come true. Yes you can create length in your spine while you sleep! You might as well, you are there for a good 6-9 hours of your 24.
Your Walking Checklist
Walking is the most basic and natural movement we don’t want to lose as we get older. It’s our body's way of propelling us through the world. Keeping up a walking practice is as important as brushing your teeth. Find and make the habit to get out there. I am here to give you a checklist of alignment and mechanics to explore while walking.
Holiday Gift Guide
The holidays are coming! Not only does Hanukkah start on Nov 28, but we got a whole slew of boats hanging around SoCal ports with goods that have not made it to the shelves. The holidays mark the end of the year with light. That light can be created with loved ones, so gifts aren’t the most important part. They can come in the form of homemade gifts (last year, I made vanilla extract for everyone), or having a no gift exchange understanding and losing that stress altogether. But if you need some ideas, I have 6 suggestions all under $40 of items that I love. All gifts are perfect for men and women!
IT’S LIKE BUTTA
When she was 3, my niece opened up a packet of butter and proceeded to eat it. No, there was no warm piece of bread for it to melt into - just right out of the packet. I was horrified. But now I realize, she was wise beyond her years. It turns out grass fed butter has so many health benefits.
Bites, Bruises, and Blisters
Overlooking the Grand Canyon from the South Rim is such a tremendous vision, it can bring tears to your eyes. The colors, enormity, and billion year history of its formation is mind boggling. It’s way grander than grand! I was lucky to be able to spend 9 days and 8 nights in the depths of this canyon, rafting on the Colorado Rive
~Tried and True~ Four Day Trips in Southern California
Travel is more complicated these days, with delayed flights, testing, close proximity, testing, and lots of paperwork. Let’s travel from the comfort of our car! There are 4 places I have tried and tested and highly recommend to day or overnight adventure from LA and to get out of the house. Each of these places have an activity to do that will keep you moving.
Your Gut Microbiome PART 3
Researchers are finding disturbances of the microbiome create disease, including obesity, diabetes, mental health, autism spectrum disorder, and immunity.