March 20, 2016
Build a body that works
Happy Spring to you all! My house is in full March Madness mode – brackets and basketball games! I think of “March Madness” to mean something else – the madness that comes with the last 10 weeks of the school year – like a ball of snow rolling down a hill, it just gets bigger and bigger, gaining momentum until it reaches the end which would be the last day of school for me! I don’t often enjoy the madness of the end of the school year, but this year, I am going to try and stay mindful and focused and see if it is any better. I will let you know. 😉
I wanted to expand on my six takeaways from the Equinox High Performance Living Symposium that I talked about last week. The first takeaway was to learn how your body works and how to use it. Our body is our vessel or vehicle, learn as much as you can about it so you can know how to take care of it. Build a body that works. One thing that is inherently important when it comes to long-term mobility, we need to learn mastery of the fundamental movements. There were many workshops on regressing movements down to basic movements of babies and animals. We do not want to train dysfunction.
Hmmm, so think about that for a minute. Learn how your body works so you do not train dysfunction or disease. Most of us know the sounds our car makes, we know when our car is out of alignment or has something wrong with it. People who fly often get intimately familiar with the sounds and movements of the planes they fly, they know when something does not sound of feel right, yet most of use have no idea when our bodies are performing at a sub-par level. We get so used to feeling tired and run down that we cannot distinguish a stress headache from a dehydration headache. We just take ibuprofen when what our bodies are asking for is relaxation or hydration. I am asking you to pay attention to your body in the same way you would pay attention to the cries of a baby. Most moms can tell when their babies are tired, hungry, or want to be held, the cries are very distinct. So, listen to what your body is telling you and try to give it what it needs instead of either avoiding the symptoms or masking them with meds. Here are a few things to pay particular attention to:
1. Any gas, bloating, bowel movements that are not normal for your body.
2. Frequent headaches.
3. Persistant fatigue that you cannot attach to a particular event or group of events.
4. Constantly feeling run down.
5. Hips and shoulders that do not line up.
6. Persistent cough that lasts longer than 2-3 weeks.
7. Have you been sick more frequently than usual?
Also, pay attention to the way your body moves, is your mobility restricted, are your muscles unusually fatigued, is your t-spine locked up, hips tight, does running feel quick and light or laborsome? Those are just a few examples. I can tell you if you are feeling any of those things, you do not need to be doing a CrossFit type intensive workout! Let’s train functional bodies and not compound dysfunction.
If you want to talk about this topic further, please let me know.
MY SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE IS UP ON STELLAFIT!!!! Space is limited, so sign up soon and tell your friends!!! You can sign up here:
We have a full week of Perfectly Fit classes this week. Make sure you sign up online or let me know you are coming just in case there is a cancellation. The weather looks great, so fingers crossed all classes are a GO!
Cheers!
Stella