Back It Up

Back It Up

For a Better Retirement

I recently read a report that 70-85% of Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their life.  Interestingly, back pain is the most frequent cause of limitation for people under 45.  And we spend over 50 billion dollars treating these pains.*

I recall my teen years of carrying a backpack with heavy schoolbooks (on one shoulder, of course!).  Before the invention of cell phones and Bluetooth, I would cradle the phone between my neck and shoulder for hours at a time.  Then, I graduated and spent another 10 years doing pretty much the same stuff adding poor posture while staring at a computer screen set too low on my desk.

So, this should come as no surprise that the right side of my neck and shoulder are tighter after spending time on my laptop (writing a blog…).  One thing we don’t realize is all of these actions catch up with us.  We wake up one day, and realize our hips don’t open all the way and our bodies ache all over.

Now is the time to protect your back and entire body.  Start by standing against a wall.  Do your heels, calves, buttocks; upper back and head touch the wall?  Do you have a natural curve in your lumbar (lower) and cervical (upper) neck?  Do your ears sit right above your shoulders?  This is our first priority – working towards a better posture.

Evaluate your lifestyle.  Are you a businessperson who is carrying a too heavy briefcase?  Perhaps you could purchase a wheeled bag.  Are you a mother carrying children on one hip and throwing your alignment out the window?  Practicing awareness and stretching the opposite side will help pull the body back together.

In addition to changing some of your everyday actions, practicing yoga will open and release the body.  With as little as 5-10 minutes each day, you will notice your shoulders falling away from the ears, and more space between your lower back and sacrum.  Add core exercises or Pilates to build strength and release weight on the lower parts of the body.

Here are a few poses to try at home:

1.     Hip Openers – Warrior 1 and 2, Wide Leg Squats, Low Lunge, Half Splits

2.     Chest Openers – Cobra, Locust, Fingers Clasped behind back in Standing Forward Fold

3.     Core Strengthening – From kneeling, bring one hand to belly and one to lower back, lean back a couple of inches to engage your core.  Then draw yourself up to kneeling. 

*Source: ACA Today

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks

Are You Prepared?

The official first day of spring is March 20.  It is a day this former Floridian looks forward to each year since moving north.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy winter; it’s that I love getting outside in nature.

I press my face against the windows with a shovel and gloves in hand.  I cannot wait for the first warm day and digging my fingers into the dirt.  These first few days of spring are all about prepping the soil for the abundance of flowers and vegetables to come.

Similar to tilling a vegetable garden, we need to tend our own internal gardens to ensure we do not miss what life has in store for us.  Spring allows us the opportunity to plant that seed of intention.  Next, we can outline all the materials, training and nutrition we need to help this seed grow.

Many times opportunity knocks at our door, but we do not hear it.  Not because we ignore the call, but simply because we are not prepared to hear the call.  Michael Jordan said he practices so that when it’s game time, he doesn’t have to think, to worry.  He knows.  He’s been watering his garden and weeding any imperfections so when the moment arises, he’s ready to hear the knock.

Don’t wait.  Create your own luck now by cultivating your life to hear and receive opportunities.  Each person’s garden is different, but here are few strategies to get started.

1.     Get moving.  Wake up the body and mind from its hibernation with a brisk walk/jog, yoga, cycle, zumba – whatever peaks your interest.

2.     Eat with the season.  Mother Nature provides us with the most perfect food at the right times of the year.  Choose leafy greens, radishes, sprouts and other delicious spring treats to help clear out the sluggish winter digestive system.

3.     Tune in with meditation.  Give yourself five minutes of quiet time to reflect on your intention.  In silence, you find more clarity and meaning.

4.     Become a beginner.  Just as you had to learn to ride a bike without training wheels, you must do the same with your intention.  If becoming a chef is your ultimate dream, step back to the basics to ensure you have mastered them before moving to the next step.

Plant your seed on March 20 in honor of the spring equinox, and begin tending to your garden.  Come winter you’ll be surprised to see what you’ve harvested.

Love Yourself First

Love Yourself First

“So-Hum” and Sing

We are givers.  We give our careers all of our daytime energies.  We give our families all of our love and support.  We give our significant lovers a listening ear and open heart.  We give dharma (destiny) our drive and passion. So, when do we have time to give to our self?

Over time, this neglect to love and care for our self wears and tears at the mind, body and soul.  We grow tired and weary.  We lose interest in the tasks, people and things we once loved before.  We become irritable and restless because something is missing.  Love is missing.

I, too, have fallen into this “always giving” category.  Whether it was skipping lunch to meet a potential client to now prolonging a shower until my infant naps, I put the needs of others before my own.  By the end of the week, I’m emotionally drained, crabby and making poor eating choices along the way. 

Practicing yoga, all aspects of yoga not just the physical postures, helps remind me to tune in and tend to my inner house.  Meditation is a powerful tool, and I read countless articles on how it calms the nervous system, rejuvenates the mind and soothes the soul.  Speaking from personal experience, meditation helps “file” my thoughts and emotions in my mind.  I feel refreshed, organized and grounded when I begin my day with as little as 5 minutes of quiet time.

Try “So-Hum” meditation.  Begin by sitting comfortably with your spine tall and long and turning off any distractions.  Draw your breath slowly into your nose while thinking or quietly saying “So.”  Release the breath slowly as you repeat the word “Hum.”  Allow the breath to be steady and even repeating “So-Hum” on each full breath.  If your mind wanders, bring it back to “So-Hum.”  Try practicing this meditation for 5 minutes and add to it as time allows.

Notice the peace and quietness it brings to the body.  Open your eyes and radiate your love.

“Love is in the air everywhere I look around.

Love is in the air every sight and every sound.

…Love is in the air, in the rising of the sun,

Love is in the air, when the day is nearly done,”

Tom Jones

New Year New View

New Year New View

Fresh Outlook for 2013

At the stroke of midnight, millions of people will rejoice to the end of the year and the beginning of 2013.  Along with the champagne and noisemakers, revelers make promises to better themselves over the next 365 days.

This tradition, over 4,000 years old, is one we either welcome or dread.  It is believed the Babylonians first began offering promises or resolutions as a way of making the gods happy and starting the next year off on the right foot.

I recently came across an old resolutions list I created many years ago.  “Travel more.  Write more.  Love what I do” among a few other items.  Did I accomplish those that year?  Yes and no.  I did purchase my first passport and traveled to Mexico with my now husband.  I wrote a few stories for myself.    As for loving what I did, that took many more years for me to figure out. 

As one chapter in your life ends, we are excited to dream and look at the next one.  Each year, we get a chance to reflect on the year’s events, our accomplishments, and disappointments.  We tend to beat ourselves up when we step on the scale at the end of the year and it doesn’t say what we feel it should.  Some resolutions are bigger than a yearly goal.  They are a lifestyle change.

“Do what youlove.  Love what you do.”  When you are in love with the way you spend your time every day, it no longer becomes the stressful environment you want to escape.  You wake each morning jumping out of bed (well, almost) and welcoming the day.

Change the way you view New Year’s resolutions and welcome the ideals and dreams that may take the rest of your life to achieve.  Happy New Year to all!

Guilt-Free Holidays

Guilt-Free Holidays

Dumping the Extra Baggage

Jingle bells and eggnog cheers.  The holidays are here.  Along with the holidays come a slew of party invitations, family obligations and less time for you.  Start December differently by establishing joyful boundaries for the holidays. 

Set your intentions early and say them loudly.  What do you like most about the season?  The least?  What traditions do you wish to celebrate?  Who will support you in your decisions? Feeling guilty starts and ends with us, not others.  No one forces you to say yes to that third glass of wine or another holiday party.  You may be surprised that when you state your true feelings how others may actually agree with you!

Many of us make decisions because we don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings.  Don’t assume you know what others are thinking.  Perhaps suggesting a gift-free holiday may bring relief to brothers and sisters.  Speak up but also listen as to why others feel the way they do.

Don’t dump your guilty luggage on others.  Imagine a friend who is only attending dinner at your house because she feels obligated.  Accept her decision rather than sending text messages reminding her of the fun time she is missing.  You would want the same love and support from your friends.

Lastly, the only person who can make you happy is you. No amount of eggnog will transport you from your family’s home.  If your choices surprise or even disappoint others, they’ll get over it.  Believe it or not, your in-laws will still have a great holiday with or without you being there!

So, if you decide to not invite a friend to dinner, or cook a certain dish for a party, be strong and supportive.  Give yourself permission to be happy and let go of the negative energies that evolve into guilt.  Be generous to yourself by being true.

Here’s to creating a holiday that is truly you and enjoy every minute of it!