Thursday, August 1, 2013

Do You Move Your Legs Like a Stork, a Dancer or Sasquatch

     Overtime you can see which people are likely to fall and break a hip by the way they move in their bodies.  Tina Turner, Liza Minnelli and Sasquatch do not fall into this category.  Ask yourself, why is this?  Dancers, Tina and Liza have strong legs and they move their legs in every direction possible, all of their leg muscles are activated regularly.  Sasquatch, is always hinging at his hips, using the big strong muscles of the legs as nature intended.
     The forward only, modern, western way of moving in the world has turned the abductor and adductor muscles into rubber cement.  Luckily, if you move your legs from side to side more and walk with longer strides, think cross country skier leaning slightly forward, this stiff stork like way can be easily remedied.  Or you could just dance.  There is no law that says you can't bend your knees and get down low while walking from the living room to the kitchen.  Why not do side lunges on the way to the loo?  It only takes a few seconds more and you double your fun.  I do the can can in the can everyday.  You can do squats like Sasquatch while brushing your teeth.  Who prefers powerful, agile legs to frozen wobbly tottering legs?  I do, I would rather dance!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Self Care Awareness Shifting from Thinking into Feeling

  Getting to travel to a foreign country is one of the most amazing experiences you could ever wish for your child.  I knew this in my heart, but I still felt sad and stressed at times, as I helped my girl prepare for her trip.  When I took my 12 year old daughter to the airport to meet with her French grand mere (grandmother), to fly to France, I thought the stress of this experience had reached the climax and stopped drinking my tea for frazzled nerves.  I instantly dropped my self care for added challenges regiment.   It had been a split second decision, A + B must equal C.  The Epsom bath salt, stress tea, slows rhythmic breathing and talking to others about how I was feeling, all were dropped like a hot potato.
     We were fortunate; we got to talk on the phone every day for the first week.  The first day, she sounded so tired and I worried, did I hear homesickness in her voice?  The second day, she sounded bored and I worried.  The third day, She rested up and made it through jet lag.  On her fifth day, she had been swimming and bowling.  Her French was growing and she shared some of her new words with me.  Her trip was turning out to be everything I had hoped for.  I felt a deep peace.  This was the moment, when I felt in my heart she was good, that I should have dropped my self care for added challenges regiment.
My big mistake had been thinking instead of really feeling into the experience.  I was guessing the stress would magically evaporate at the hard point of separation in the airport.  Luckily, she and I had loving people around us to listen and support us upon departure and arrival.  From this point forward I will strive to sit in silence for a few moments and deeply feel into my self what my body needs.  It is easy, all you have to do is close your eyes, take some slow full breathes and feel into your heart.

Beka Chandler is a Massage Therapist and Self Care Coach in Ashland Oregon