Serious Therapy

Wow. I'm still floating. I had the good fortune to spend my lunch hour in Therapeutic Yoga at Almaden Valley Athletic Club and completely lost all the tension I've been hauling about for the last week.

The teacher Nanci, greeted us all, gave us a list of props we'd be using (blankets, rollers, blocks...) and then got us arranged in Mountain Brook pose. I've been to a lot of yoga classes in my day, and had not before encountered this delightful position. Laying over some blankets that strategically lifted and lengthened our spine (especially that stress laden lumbar region) while letting our arms fall open to the side.

Just *try* to stay tense in this position... I dare you. And if this wasn't nice enough, she brought small towels to put over our eyes to let us enter complete relaxation.

So.. 10 minutes later, she's gently cuing us into the next pose. Ah well, I figured, couldn't stay that relaxed for the whole class, thought I. But I was wrong, she moved us slowly from one delicious pose to the next, including a relaxing straddle stretch, forward twist pose, with many other lovely spots on the way.

I'll be frank - its hard to let yourself be both that comfortable and let the mind enter into that stillness. Part of "power yoga's" appeal for me is that I can't make a grocery list while making sure I stay balanced in standing splits ;-) But Nanci's lovely imagery, and just enough verbalization of sensation and intention kept me present enough ... resulting in this lovely, continuing relaxed state.

And I have another hour til school lets out ;-)

A New Hill

I build my cycle classes around great music and the idea of a great hill...

Hicks Road is in the rotation! The ride from New Almaden is a perfect warm up, the 20 minutes STRAIT UP up the perfect vertical, and the 20 minutes down and across to Camden is great for aerobic bursts.

Come spin with me at 24Hr. Supersport tomorrow for this new mix - featuring my "Glee" mix that'll let out your inner 16 year old.

(PS - worry not, the Gaga/BEPeas Old La Honda class will live on!)

My Top 10 Yoga Poses....

I'm a big fan of lists (I really love December for its abundance of "top 10's".) In preparing for this week's yoga class, I decided to build the flow of the class to include my favorite poses, or asanas.

Should you wonder... here they are! (In English, but should you want Sanskrit/photos, follow the links for each pose to Yoga Journal online.)

1. Downward facing dog. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...Stretches shoulders, hamstrings, builds beautiful arms, relieves lower back tension.

2. Chair. Builds quad strength, promotes foot health, strengthens abs and knees (note: make sure weight is dropped back into heels or it can tweak knees... no no no!)

3. Forward Fold. Best done after chair for full pnf goodness! And definitely best done with softly bent knees to promote lower back stretching and tension release. And how I love the inversion benefits... feel the blood flowing up into my tired brain!

4. Lunge Pose. Builds leg strength, IT band flexibility, and lower ab toning. Also nice done with a twist. (if you, make sure you bring the weight slightly forward to allow the back to fully extend.)

5. Plow Pose. I love the intense compression sensations that accompany the intense inversion sensations. And its a great lower back stretch, coupled with putting restorative pressure on our shoulder blades.

6. Pigeon Pose. Like many yoga poses, uses the body's own weight to deepen a stretch in not one, but two! hard to stretch spots, over the IT Band and under the hip.

7. Tree Pose. Of all balance poses, this one really captures the lighter than air feeling. And it strengthens our feet (hooray) and makes my upper thighs look really thin!

8. Dancer Pose. Combining the best elements of the two above poses (IT band stretch, foot strength) and adds a lovely shoulder opening and a level of intensity. Perhaps the most beautiful of all balance poses.

9. Bound locust. While I frequently run out of time before getting to prone poses, this one is a winner for strengthening back muscles, and I think it feels especially good with hands interlaced to help open shoulders at same time.

10. Child's pose. What's not to love? (especially after locust pose) stretches and relaxes our wonderful backs. Especially delicious if you have a child willing to walk on your back (teacher tested up to 70 pounds.)

I could go on, and on... so many poses... so little time!

Shoreline Dirt Pile, Part 2

For those who read my earlier post about the joys of Dirt Piles at Shoreline Park... here's the photo to go with it.

I never see that look on their face while playing inside :-)

Fat, medicated… but safe.

Teddy was a truly cranky 6 year old. He never felt like he was good at anything. His brain raced along faster than his ability to engage with the world around him. He made a lot of mistakes at school, had a lot of conflict with peers, over seemingly trivial things... and was sent to the principal’s office a lot. He had intelligence to burn, charm when he chose it, and a loving family (admittedly with a bossy older brother) and caring teachers. But the only thing that delighted him was “screen time.” Especially the Wii.

Then one day… he discovered his scooter. It didn’t require the “get ready” steps that bike and roller blades did… just a helmet. He was as fast as his big brother. He felt like he could fly. It was always in the car, and could be parked wherever he was at school.

He would spend hours after school practicing his “short track times”. He was happy to get in the car and drive to school, since he could enjoy the scooter the ¼ mile from parking space to his line. He could do tricks and the other kids started to bring their scooters to school. He spent time outdoors. He ate more. He slept better. Other kids started bringing their scooters and Teddy taught them tricks he had first learned from Wii Winter Olympics. The playground became a merry mass of first graders in motion. Rapid motion :-)

A few weeks passed… Teddy was stopped on the playground one morning on his way to his line, and told he was not allowed to ride his scooter at school anymore. (He could walk it.)

His mom went to go ask the principal reason for this and was told “it was for safety”. His mom tried to explain this to Teddy. He promised that he rode carefully and would be extra careful from now on. His teacher tried to explain that in addition to caring about the safety of others, this was about respecting everybody’s rights by following rules.

But it didn’t compute in his brain. He figured he had done something bad. He became cranky, lost his appetite, and had trouble sleeping again. (In one of the last glimpses of humor and self awareness, he asked if the principal was a friend of Mrs. Gorf - of Wayside School fame -- who only liked kids to be quiet and still and round like apples.)

His pediatrician suggested that Ritalin would help him become more successful at school.

The playground is again empty after school – except for the neighborhood teens riding their bikes, and the nannies with toddlers.

Teddy is inside… waiting for screen time.

Cranky. Sedentary. But safe.

This is a true story. Names have been changed, but not much else.

Wellness in the Health Care Bill!

As a corporate and personal wellness coach, I was thrilled to see that the health care reform legislation addresses the very common sense idea that prioritizing keeping people well will benefit us all.

In particular, I was happy to see so much attention paid to the workplace - the place where we adults spend so much time, and where stress can lead to illness.

The ROI of a good workplace wellness are becoming clear and now there are will be more focus, and more incentives around this.

I'm looking forward to being a a part of this change.

Health Promotion Provisions in Health Care Reform Bill See details here: Included Development of a national health promotion plan. Enhanced health promotion research. Technical assistance to enhance evaluation of workplace health promotion programs. Regular periodic surveys on workplace health program prevalence and components. Grants to pay a portion of the cost of comprehensive workplace health promotion programs for small employers. Allow employers to offer employees a premium discount of up to 30% (instead of the current 20%), for positive lifestyle practices or participation in health promotion programs, include safeguards, and refer to Health and Human Services to study benefits of increasing the portion to 50%.

Shoreline Park, Picnics and Dirt Piles

Shoreline Park in Mt. View has so many delights... where to start? Its the best biking/skating path for those learning to ride, it has a great kids play area, you can rent paddle boats, canoes, and they serve great beer and french fries in the charming boat house. Phew.

Just when I thought it couldn't get better -- the dirt piles appeared. While perhaps appearing to be a girly girl, I've always enjoyed getting dirty and sweaty... imagine my delight in discovering mountain biking in my late 20s!)

And back in those same late 20's days, I was dating a cute guy, whose best friend lived by Portero Hill in SF. We'd frequently go and enjoy beautiful SF days with him. One day, as we finished a hike there, we amused ourselves by hopping and sliding "off trail" to get to the bottom of the hill. And friend, we'll call him Pookie, took great photos of this fun. I subsequently married cute guy and had babies which have now grown into small men.

Flash forward to today... said small men are 7 (hooray) and almost 9. Our friend Pooks and his lovely wife (we'll call her Clabber, after the cute girl on the baking powder can) have adorable 1 year old twins. So Pooks and Clab call us up to do something family friendly and we suggest Shoreline Park, and picnic by the kids playground.

Now Pooks used to live in Mountain View and enjoyed Shoreline Park as single grown ups do... an occasion roller blade outing, or a hike. But to see it through the eyes of a parent is to truly appreciate it. And as the parents of a7/9 year olds, we felt the joy that comes when your kids drop by the picnic blanket for some food, a brief hello and chat, and then scooter off to do their thing. (As we enjoy our David Bruce and the sunshine and the time with other people's babies.)

But after 2 hours, our kids have played in the park, scootered their share, have talked us out to the paddle boats... and then... they saw the dirt piles!!! (Insert Pooks photos here when received). Our kids took off in delight. (The 1 year old twins wobbled around the blanket, but stayed close.) Pooks followed, Nikon in hand. As our kids hopped and slid, and jumped, and Pooks snapped photos of the joy, I felt some serious Circle of Life.

What a beautiful day.