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Tag: exercise
ME! I did that!
I wanted a fourth child but couldn’t get the relationship right. Got pregnant and divorced altogether. But I was happy to be in a position to keep my kids near me while working and I was able to nurse my fourth child for two years.
I was so happy to provide for him what I couldn’t fully to all of my children. His dad is/was a great dad. He spent time with him from the very beginning and as soon as I was done nursing, my son spent every weekend with his dad.
I was fine with that because I had three girls 10 and under that needed me. My son also spent 3-4 evenings with his dad as well. Came home each night for bedtime and I was happy he had a father who spent a lot of time with him.
BUT…there’s a but here.
I counted and most of the time, FOUR nights a week my son would come home with left over McDonalds, Burger King or KFC. It began to bother me greatly. My son was developing serious nasal breathing issues and I was convinced his diet played a role. He would play video games with his mouth open and head down and I hated it.
I began research and obviously figured out all the toxins that come with fast food. I’m not a fast food HATER (well kind of but not really), I believe our bodies are made to cleanse themselves and detox. EXCEPT, when we OVERLOAD it with toxins so often.
It was a struggle, but as my son got older I began to put in his head that McDonalds wasn’t good to be eating every day and that he should ask his dad to eat different sometimes. This is where KFC came into play.
Ok, it’s different LOL! We kept working on it and meantime, when my son was with me he was not allowed to keep his mouth open. If he wanted to play video games he HAD to keep his mouth closed.
It took time but I WON THAT BATTLE. His stuffy nose began to disappear! Can you believe it? The habits we learn to live with are so important!
Long story short, as my son got closer to middle school / high school sports he spent more time at home and I pushed healthier home made meals on him and constantly shared with him reasons why we eat this and that.
At my studio I have posters and signs about all three macros and nutrients. At one point I kept a sign in the bathroom and he would read it while pooping. I never knew until he came home one day in middle school and said MOM! I was the only one is science class to know the answers about macros!
That’s when I learned he had been reading the sign and soaking up the information and I was ECSTATIC!
At 13 my son became interested in lifting weights. I shared some tips and as he began lifting with the new high school coach he became much more serious.
Today my son is knowledgeable enough about health and fitness I would let him lead my own clients!
I’m proud of him. He’s helped many other kids and teens and I know he’ll do great things!
I DID THAT! I taught him by leading with example! Only he’s much more ripped!
Sensations of an overused body
There was a point at which my dad was very near the end. He might wake and look us in the eye or he might nod his head or even try to mouth a word.
Long before this I had convinced myself I was going to come with clean, pure, balanced, calm energy.
I sat on his right side holding his right hand with my left, my elbows resting on my knees, my breathing rate was very calm and I felt an intense freedom on my left side.
For some time now, I’ve thought it was because I had better control on my left side and that I was too “right” dominant to control my right side.
I felt as if someone had cinched up a handful of threads on my right seam and caused my entire right side to “cinch” up!
All this time, I have worked mentally to fix this in my brain. The more I’ve learned (it’s a TON) and the more I’ve experienced with healing my right hip, the more I understand about the human right dominant experience and our tendencies. I have come to realize what was really happening with my sensations during my fathers passing.
I was actually feeling my body at a rest it’s never experienced before.
The cinched feeling around my right wrist was the after effects of spending 50 years with tight tendons and fascia around my wrist.
The rope like pull I felt from the right occiput down through the right trap and into the rear to mid shoulder joint, was the residual effect of tight neck and shoulders from a habit of carrying stress in my neck and shoulders.
It wasn’t that I “couldn’t” relax, I WAS relaxed and fully relaxed. It was simply that the right side of my body was worn like an OLD PAIR of shoes because of my habitual tendencies. My left side felt like a barely worn NEW PAIR of shoes!
Old, used, rugged and frayed small and large ropes resided in the place of medial and lateral tendons up and down my neck, shoulder, arm and even into the hip and knee.
All this time I thought I couldn’t truly relax, it was. I was simply feeling the EFFECTS of a lifetime of HARD RIGHT dominance.
While I know I can build the strength back up, and even gain better mobility on the right side of my body, I will always have more damage on the right than the left.
If I can help others become more aware of their own dominance, I believe I can help the framework of their body stay stronger longer.
One thing I preach to my clients on a regular basis, is to do things with the opposite side as often as possible!
Whether it be to hold a door open with the opposite foot, or to use the opposite hand to unlock a door, OR brush your teeth with the opposite hand!
Why do I love winter this year?
I have no immediate answer! I don’t hate winter but for the past five years at least, I’ve really struggled with being cold!
Then late last year I came across low heart rate training and before I knew it, I was getting an average of 300 minutes a week!
I feel so good after each session that I continue to look forward to the next one.
There’s something about feeling so good after a workout with zero soreness yet you know you’re to toning up, getting stronger and losing inches without a struggle!
I’ve been riding my cycle on a trainer indoors and getting out to hike regularly at local parks. This is the most I’ve exercised in winter time ever!
I think it’s important first, to know you need the movement and then second to find something that you thoroughly enjoy! Then get at it and keep your heart rate aerobic and go long!
Brenda Lee Lewis, Me, Mom, Trainer 