Health and Fitness

"Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think."


~Dale Carnegie

Choose to be happy today It's work, but like anything worth pursuing, it's meaningful work. Nobody is just naturally happy all the time but we can train ourselves to be in a happy state of mind by choosing our thoughts and choosing our attitude.

I tend to not let people or external circumstances bring me down. Of course, pretty bad things in life happen and I feel sad, frustrated, angry, but knowing that I have the power to be happy is very comforting. As long as we don't allow pessimistic others to determine who we are, how we are, why we are, etc. it is very possible to stay balanced.

Cut out the energy sucking toxic vampires from your life ;D That's one of the best ways to stay healthy, feel energized and deal with the important issues in life.

Plan for today is a run and swim class. The weather is PERFECT here. We're going to add some do-nothing-but-relax- by-the-pool time as well. That's my zone out time when all fades to the background and the sun works its magic.

redwing I know those two sweet grandkiddos love hanging out with you. Heck, I'd love to hang out with you as you are one of the coolest grandmas around!

Rose, I am happy for you. Really happy. Those choices you made yesterday made a big difference and I think you and the puppy may have made yourselves a new friend.

Work on your mobility. Shoulder rolls and shrugs, arm stretches, torso twists. You don't have to have perfect balance to work on things to help joint mobility. There is so much you CAN DO. Don't forget that!

Here's a quote by a super duper self- help author I appreciate very much:

"Life is difficult. This is a great truth. Because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it ... once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."

~Stephen Covey

 

http://www.backonmyfeet.org/about-back-on-my-feet

Talk about wanting to be healthy and pushing to fight through life's struggles. I am so grateful today to have family, friends, a roof over my head, a job, nourishing food, a helping hand when I need it and the ability to turn things around for myself in times of darkness or difficulty.

Gratitude. Today I am making the choice to really feel grateful for everything, including my dearest friend Kim.

 

Today was yoga day. It felt good to have an hour of deep stretches and holding poses to practice breathing. My instructor is in her 60s. She looks like any other lady in her mid-60s except when she starts to practice. She is incredibly flexible, strong and peaceful.

Her voice is akin to the gentle lulling of waves on a sandy beach somewhere quiet. She gets your mind to quieten and life just slows down as you move from one asana to the other. At the end of the hour, you are left feeling calm yet incredibly energized and you see the events around you from a different perspective.

Do something quiet yet energizing for yourself today. Events are events. People are people. We don't have to run into them and feel the full force of their baggage. We can walk around them and continue on our peaceful way.

 

Congratulations! It's always so cool to find that you can do something you weren't able to do for a while.

 

Nathan and I were talking about motivation, competition, and accomplishment in general. He then told me about a quote that I think is so powerful and mindset changing. I'm posting it on this thread since I do believe that a shift in mindset is so important as far as health and wellness are concerned.

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.”

-- Neil deGrasse Tyson

Compete against yourselves for one day. Look at the person you see in the mirror and want to be better than the reflection in whatever way you choose. Create your challenge, hold a vision in your mind and see yourself doing it. Honor your limits but don't let them make you a prisoner.

I'm very aware that this is a forum for people with disabilities but being disabled is simply a state of mind. It doesn't have to be a state of being. There are people with really harsh disabilities that go on to accomplish so much, both physically and otherwise, once they stop seeing themselves as incapable or limited.

The lines from one of my favorite Bob Marley songs remind me to not let my symptoms define me:

Don't let them change ya
Or even rearrange ya! Oh, no
We've got a life to live.
They say: only, only,
Only the fittest of the fittest shall survive,
Stay alive!

Have a healthy weekend.

 

“Relaxing the shoulders is vital for relaxation in general. However, owing to the effects of gravity, relaxation is problematic unless we let the shoulders remain in their natural place. Let the shoulders drop, or settle in harmony with gravity, into their most comfortable position. It isn’t too difficult to do this for a moment, but to sustain this condition unconsciously in our lives is another matter. We raise our shoulders unnaturally when we lean on a desk or hold the telephone between our shoulders and ears, when we are shocked by a loud noise, and who knows how many other times throughout the day. And the unsettling of the shoulders doesn’t have to be large to produce anxiety, stiff necks, and headaches. Just slightly raising them will create tension, and this tension throws the nervous system out of balance.

When do we raise the shoulders in daily life? What are we feeling at that moment and leading up to that moment? Remembering that the body reflects the mind, and that the raising of the shoulders not only creates tension but also is a physical manifestation of psychological tension itself, what are the roots of this tension? Bringing the mind into the moment, let’s observe ourselves in a state free of preconceived ideas or beliefs. Don’t guess at these questions. Observe yourself in relationship to others and the universe”

― H.E. Davey, Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation

This is a good book. It';s an easy read and associates how we hold ourselves with our posture to some type of psychological stress we may have been, or may be under.

My kids and I are the only people I know without a smartphone or an iPhone ;D In a way, I'm glad because holding your neck in that unnatural downward position for extended periods of time really messes up the neck and shoulders. We were not made to walk or sit around with our necks down like that.

Just for today, be mindful of your posture and how you hold your upper body. All of this plays a huge part in those who get cervicogenic vertigo along with the other type of dizziness/vertigo that comes from an out of whack vestibular system.

Stand up straight and tall, pull your shoulder blades back like they want to touch to remind you to get out of a hunched position. Neck pulled in slightly to avoid the classic turtle neck position that comes with too much computer or TV time.

Do a few shoulder shrugs to release tension in your traps and clavicle area. If you work out, do them with dumbbells in both hands.

Be mindful and aware of how you carry yourself through today. I wish you all a relaxed Sunday. Breathe deeply into your muscles and release the tension you may be carrying in your upper body. Take some time to sit in meditation.

Stay joyful despite the hardships

 

Rose, I attend a running form clinic from time to time as a refresher. Bad form can lead to lots of injuries as you well know. Anyhow, the lady who does the class at the running store always reminds us to "reset" after every mile or two. I'm sure you already do this without realizing it.

Reset mostly involves getting those shoulders down and back and pushing the turtle neck in so your back straightens up and your core is firm and tight. Try resetting at home as well when you are on the couch or in bed or cooking in the kitchen. It's just those few minutes of breath and posture awareness; a kind of body check in.

If there is tension, just allow it to melt away as you breathe deeply. It really does help and clears the mind as well. I think multiple resets a day can help most people.

 

Love the energy in your post! I agree with you on being out and active. I ran 3 miles the other day and told a friend it was not for pace or timing but just for sweat

 

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Play time is the best. Yesterday evening, my older teenager and I went for a long walk (well, I walked and he was on his longboard). We stopped off at a park on our way home and stayed there for a long time just goofing around and playing on the park equipment. It's something we love to do from time to time.

I can't tell you how much fun it was to run around and be like little kids ;D Hanging from the monkey bars, pushing each other on the swing, going down the slide, climbing up those little steps to get to the top. So much laughter and silliness. I know we will cherish these memories. He is close to being an adult and I will miss him when life takes him on his chosen path.

Find time to play. Unleash your inner child. Enjoy the very simple things like sunshine, a playground, a song from your childhood, a PBJ sandwich, goofing around with your grown kids and\/or grandkids. We all need play time away from computers, iPhones, videogames or other devices that keep us glued to a world that is distracting and mostly unauthentic.

Today I gotta walk 2.5 miles to the gym and then walk back home as my car is at the mechanic's. Weight training so it's barbells and dumbbells, which I love. It's a lovely day here so walking is an added bonus. I am so grateful that I CAN walk.

 

I lifted weights in the morning, swam in the afternoon and went to a late evening yoga class. It was at 7:30 pm and I love being able to go at the end of the day and winding down. This particular class is just so relaxing, peaceful yet strength focused because you hold poses for a longer time and they are strength based, rather than stretch based.

Met up with a good friend of mine and her kids later. I took mine with me and they all had ice cream while we moms chatted and laughed. The kids get along very well and have been friends for a long time. On the way back home, we had Led Zeppelin and The Clash playing in the car and to hear my older one belt out the songs with me was awesome. Love, love, love their company.

Thinking of going for a run soon, on the treadmill, and yoga later. It's cardio day so that should work.

I hope you all have a serene day. Stay away from toxicity in any form: people, habits, food, laziness, forum threads, etc. You are more valuable than a stranger's opinion of you

“7 things negative people will do to you. They will...

1. Demean your value;
2. Destroy your image
3. Drive you crazy!
4. Dispose your dreams!
5. Discredit your imagination!
6. Deframe your abilities and
7. Disbelieve your opinions!

Stay away from negative people!”

― Israelmore Ayivor

 

I love this quote. It helps me get through times when I am confused or distracted. It reminds me to refocus and prioritize. Time is a very valuable and cannot be replaced. It's so important that we spend our time wisely and make time by managing it well.

You've got to know what you want. This is central to acting on your intentions. When you know what you want, you realize that all there is left then is time management. You'll manage your time to achieve your goals because you clearly know what you're trying to achieve in your life.

~Patch Adams

Choose where you want to put your time, on whom you want to spend your time and how you manage your time. Don't waste it on people, items and situations that absolutely do NOT deserve it. Move past the vampires as quickly as you can and sidestep all those potholes waiting for you to drop down into them.

Today I spent my time working out at the gym, visiting a friend, taking my kids longboarding, having lunch with my family, and meeting up with a co-worker. I have a couple of hours to myself and I'm going swimming.

I hope you all have a day where you meet your priorities and expectations and say, "Screw you" to the rest of it.

 

I'm starting a new 5x5 program next week. Looking forward to it. Won't be running as much since I can't do both. Need rest and recovery time in between.

It's a rainy and stormy day here so will be indoors for the most part. Gym this afternoon for strength training and an hour of Vinyasa yoga.

Got a couple of hours of extra sleep this morning, which was nice. I do my best to sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. My mind just shuts off at a certain time in the evening and I have to sleep. Best thing ever,

Rest days are good, red. R & R for those muscles do they can repair themselves

Use your energy today to fight your own demons, not those of other people. Be nice; your kids are watching you ;D


Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

-Mahatma Gandhi

 

I'll PM you. It's a strength training program.

 

The key to healthy eating? Avoid any food that has a TV commercial ;D

I saw this poster and thought it was so appropriate. Eat well today. It's Meatless Monday for me. I go totally vegan or vegetarian 2 days a week. The second day used to be Tofu Thursday but I gave up soy a long time ago so it's just other non-meat foods now.

Too warm to run before work this morning so I will go after work on the treadmill. The weather cleared up late afternoon yesterday so we got a couple of hours at the pool to swim and play around. Any movement is good.

I hope you all have a serene week with no flare ups of any kind. Hug your children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews tightly and tell them you love them.

xo

 

Yes I do.

According to the dictionary, ability means possession of the means or skill to do something. Energy means the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.

Most of us possess the above regardless of our health. Do what you can do not what somebody else can do, Comparisons are silly. Do what you can do. Be YOUR best self.

Read the living room and you will see that several people with Meniere's Disease are triathletes, marathon runners, avid bikers, yoga practitioners, hikers, swimmers. They travel the world for business/pleasure, go on cruises, etc. It would help you to contact them and ask them how they do it. There are plenty of positive and strong people on this forum to associate with so seek them out.

You don't need to wish you had anything I (or anybody else) have, or look like anybody else either. Just be you and explore your own capabilities.