Abundant Health In 2018!
Thanks to @goldendawne for hosting this fun contest! I am not into "resolutions" but I am all about setting goals for myself! If you want to join in, details are here:
https://steemit.com/healthy2018/@goldendawne/heathy2018-steem-contest-this-stewards-of-gondor-strikes-again
My goals for 2018 are intended to improve flexibility and strength, especially in my shoulders and back. I have developed TERRIBLE posture over the past few years and I want to "stand tall" again. I will be using a combination of yoga and physical therapy to "stretch" for my goal.
I took up yoga as a child, studied it pretty seriously as a teen and have continued to practice it off and on all my life. I won't really be using an instructor for this part. I will do Surya Namaskara, or the Sun Salutation. This is moderately aerobic if you do the full sequence, twelve rounds. It is a wonderful way to start a day, stretches everything and gets blood flowing, it is incredibly energizing!
(free google image)
I will also stretch to the sides using the triangle pose. This is done to keep the spine supple. We spend much of our lives leaning forward, a little time leaning backward, but we rarely go side to side after we leave grade school gym class. Especially as a homesteader and gardener, it is important to me that I can push and pull without hurting myself!
(free google image)
A daily twist is also part of my routine. Again, it is about keeping my spine flexible. At my age, pulling muscles is getting easier and easier, I have to try to offset my aging with limberness! Sometimes I "revolve" my triangle pose but I also like the "Half Lord Of The Fishes" pose:
(free google image)
There is a pair of physical therapists on youtube that I watch regularly, Bob and Brad. They have a routine for improving posture that I will be doing. It is designed to strengthen the back and shoulder muscles. People tend to lean forward on almost everything we do, and so we are pulling on those back muscles, making them slack. Meanwhile, our chest muscles get stronger and pull us more and more to the front. These men offer a couple of routines to undo and reverse that damage, like this one:
There are the nuts and bolts. A physical problem with physical solutions... except the REASON I have such terrible posture has not been fixed. I will have to work on that in my head.
I have a family history of breast cancer, my mother. Bras have been implicated in the tremendous increase in breast cancer rates. I have such tiny titties it makes NO SENSE to put a rubber band around my chest to protect them or hold them up or whatever the bra is supposed to do. When I stopped going to work at a 9 to 5, I quit wearing a bra... and I started slouching. I don't like the "smuggling raisins" look. I am embarrassed about how tiny my titties are. I curl forward to keep my shirt from clinging, and oddly enough to make my tiny titties just disappear. I want to get over it. I want to stand tall again, my father raised me better than this! I am not quite sure how I will work on getting over my mosquito bite shame, but I am going to to it.
My goal is sort of like this:
Before: C
After: I
Wish me luck!
I'm going to try and be more regular with stretching. Getting old stinks anyway. I have hardly any flexability anymore. Always sitting doing something. Thanks for shaming me into more exercise! lol
Man, we kicked butt on our diet last year, we can do this!
Once in a while it is a bit scary to see how much we have in common lol ... I only put on a bra when I leave the house to an "official" point in the outside world - I through away all bras with metal 20 years ago.... my curling in of shoulders goes with the opposite reason here - hiding the "too big ones"... aren't we femals somewhat silly? Will join you in the sun salutation every morning here!!!! Great idea for a healthy 2018 - and let's both work on the stupid curling in! Deal!
Absolutely! Lets do this!
"I will do Surya Namaskara, or the Sun Salutation..." I did that too @fishiyculture, for quite some time many years ago - my friends even nick named me "Yogi Sven". Well, unfortunately the real sun can only be seen rarely here nowadays. We may have had two or three sunny days since September. Maybe, if @jkiw and me practice together, we might be able to move away the clouds and let the sun shine more brightly?
Well, trying is free lol!
I will try some of these as my posture is horrible as I spend a good time of my day on a computer chair or on my bed with my laptop. Thanks for sharing. And Agreed thanks to @goldendawne for this 2018 healthy challenge. I will be contributing more after the kids go back to school this week.
Even when I "exercise" these days it is usually doing chores, things that exacerbate the problem rather than help!
Ohmmmmm
Yes 2018 time to get into shape, like an 'I' 😁
When I was working in an office as an admin assistant, I found myself suffering from sore shoulders and upper back, stretching REALLY helped. Even now, I get up from my desk and laptop every 20 or 30 minutes and go do some household chores; benefit of working from home.
Keep us up to date on the progress and GOOD LUCK!
Yeah, I figured if I am going to be a serious blogger, I need to get on this... lol! Thanks!
If you're in the homesteadersonline Discord group we have a mentoring program. I'm one of the mentors there, as well as a moderator of the group.
Ahhh... I am technically in there. I have seriously considered hosting a contest called "Catch Fishy In Chat Before She Runs Back Out!"
I have an anxiety disorder that I usually manage quite well, but there is something about those chats that just sets me on edge, badly. I am working on it, I go in and look around but I hardly ever say anything. If I can get my $#!+ together, I will look for you in there!