Blog - The Curious Mover
The Boss of You-Taking Ownership
Right now, without moving, what are you doing while you are reading this? Are you sitting? How are you sitting? Are you sitting on one hip more than the other? Is your pelvis square to the front or twisted? Are your feet fully touching the ground comfortably? These questions help raise awareness of habitual patterns we may have that might contribute to pain. These questions are helpful to remember in order to start taking ownership. Ownership of your body.
New Year, New Month, New Habits!
New year, new month, new perspective on our lives. We make resolutions. But a lot of time, they don’t stick. Why?
Just Throw your Hands in the Air - Part 2
In this edition, I promised to show you some exercises that can prep for overhead pushing arm strength. So when you get back to traveling, you can pop that suitcase above you NP! These exercises emphasize pushing overhead strength, not pulling strength, but you can come over and use my pull up bar for that, it will be outside!
Throw your Hands in the Air - Part 1
Throw your hands in the air for the end of 2020? For surviving an unusual year? For all small victories that get you through your day, and thus, year? YES! But I am also talking about arms overhead. Mechanics!
Let’s Vaporize
Does your face feel like it is about to fall off? Along with your lips? It’s so dry in the winter, and with no rain, how do you make up for lost moisture? One thing that I swear by is having a humidifier on while you are sleeping. We have one on every night, and if we forget to put it on, we feel the difference in the morning. Parched mouth, dry skin, and stuffy nose. This post expounds on the benefits of having a humidifier, besides adding humidity to dry air, the differences between hot and cold, and how to clean them.
Your Winter Reading List
The pandemic has made reading easier to do, with being less busy, so I wanted to recommend some favorites you can pick up for the holidays. Please share what good reads you have as well!
Not Every Exercise is for You
It’s true. Our bodies are all built differently. Yes we have two eyes, ears, arms, legs, and a nose. And a butt, BUT! Not only are men’s bodies very different from women’s, we are also individually put together differently. For example, we all have a hip socket, hip joint, and neck of the femur, but mine is different from yours in size, shape, and location. And we have two, and even they can be different from each other. So having a one size fits all exercise is a tall order.
Your “Healthier” Thanksgiving Desserts
I am here to give you some ideas for gluten free, dairy free “healthier” but delicious desserts that I have tested in my kitchen and were crowd pleasers in my circles. And you won’t even miss the dairy or the gluten! They do take alternative ingredients so if you are so inspired, you have a good week to find them.
The Tension of Stillness
In the last two Mover’s, we talked about the Brace and the Torque, which are important concepts while in movement. But what do we do with our bodies in stillness? Sitting, standing, and lying down? Do we torque or brace 20% and hold in our abdominals? The answer is quite simple, but the pathway to get there is surprisingly challenging. It’s a strange dichotomy for stillness to be difficult, but it is a truth we can attempt to answer in many different realms of body and spirit. But one definition for stillness: we do nothing! We TRY to relax, and settle into the stacking of our bones for good posture and alignment without intentionally holding or activating at all. The hard part? We need to have the awareness of where we are holding tension and gripping. It just might be a reason for having pain!
The Brace and The Torque - Epilogue
Sounds like a soap opera, a dramatic novel, or an alternative music group. But nope, it is another layer I am adding into my teaching to create stability. This two part series (because I had way more to say than I thought) will explore these two principles as it relates to Pilates and strength training. As you all know, I love learning, and I am in the middle of reading Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. It is catered to the cross fit community as well as olympic weightlifters, yes, SO not what I teach. But it has made a huge impact in my sessions to cue the brace and the torque in Pilates, walking, and strength training.
The Brace and the Torque - Prologue
Sounds like a soap opera, a dramatic novel, or an alternative music group. But nope, it is another layer I am adding into my teaching to create stability. This two part series (because I had way more to say than I thought) will explore these two principles as it relates to Pilates and strength training. As you all know, I love learning, and I am in the middle of reading Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. It is catered to the cross fit community as well as olympic weightlifters, yes, SO not what I teach. But it has made a huge impact in my sessions to cue the brace and the torque in Pilates, walking, and strength training.
Paleo vs Keto
This weekend I baked a paleo key lime pie and I have also made keto macadamia bread. You have probably heard these words, paleo and keto, around people’s choice of diets/lifestyle, so let’s dive into what they mean, and the similarities and differences between both ways of eating.
The Lost Art of Breathing
James Nestor’s book “Breath - The New Science of a Lost Art” was literally a breath of fresh air and as engaging as a page turning novel. Nestor is an investigative journalist who immerses himself in pulmonary tests, anthropology, history, and a variety of different breathing technique classes. He travels the world to write this book, taking us through creepy underground tunnels in France to study the sizes of skulls.
We Can Do Hard Things
I love this line from Glennon Doyle’s book “Untamed”. It has stuck with me, especially during this time of hard things. We just had Yom Kippur, the Jewish high holidays of introspection, among other things. The intention of fasting on Yom Kippur is to “cleanse for our sins” and to slow down our internal rhythms so we can further self reflect, but I do think we can make it mean what we want, and how many sins are we actually committing this year if we have pretty much been at home?!
The Seven Laws of Fitness Part 2
It is useful to think about the 7 laws of fitness when thinking about moving and challenging a body for strength and flexibility. It’s time to get acquainted! It will help you make firm decisions about your fitness, and listen to your body. We will explore them in this two part series. It will help in your own workouts to think about these laws as global fitness truths, whether you are walking, doing yoga, Pilates, weight lifting, etc. You will see how closely they interlink with each other.
The Seven Laws of Fitness Part 1
It is useful to think about the 7 laws of fitness when thinking about moving and challenging a body for strength and flexibility. It’s time to get acquainted! It will help you make firm decisions about your fitness, and listen to your body. We will explore them in this two part series. It will help in your own workouts to think about these laws as global fitness truths, whether you are walking, doing yoga, Pilates, weight lifting, etc. You will see how closely they interlink with each other.
Building Stress Resilience
When I say cool water, what is your first reaction? Usually it presents itself as discomfort. But what if getting used to discomfort helps us cope with other discomfort in our lives. We learn how to handle that discomfort, or stress so we can increase our threshold to stress in general. The human body needs “good” stress from the environment to invigorate our nervous system and strengthen the body.
Measuring Sticks
We’ve been in quarantine for six months. Although it can be hard to stay motivated, keeping up with skills we love or starting a new skill you never had time for can bring us joy. In the habit of sticking with your habit, perhaps there are ways of seeing improvements that act like measuring sticks to our personal development. What have you stuck with during this time that brings you happiness? Are you learning a new skill? Six months later, how can you tell you are better at it? This measurement can assess whether you are creating small (or big) positive changes. Having to eat every meal at home has upped people’s cooking skills and dinner is more delicious. Maybe you have been able to rest more, and you feel better for it. Having a measuring stick during this time can bring us some personal satisfaction and success that can fill our spirit with resolve to keep moving us forward with inspiration.
The Structure of our Days
What do you need in your morning? Is it a meditation practice? Exercise or stretching? Journaling? Think about what you would need to create your best start of the day. Look at what you can cut out time wise in the morning (like phone scrolling (note to self!)), or how you can set yourself up the night before, like going to sleep 15 minutes earlier so you have the time. Decide how long you have so it is doable, and schedule it in your morning menu with 5 dishes only. You would probably make up your mind much faster then say, a saga of a Jerry’s Deli menu.