Thursday, November 8, 2012

Time for Answers - Part2.: We are being told lies

Going down the list I dressed couple of post ago. Awareness - the cultural aspect.

When I began to dig into those questions of Health, Healing, Nutrition, Weight loss, Training, I realized pretty fast I just opened the Pandora box. Weight loss is a multi-billion Market, and I am pretty sure fitness is close by behind. Where to start ? I never been teach about Health at school (we should be, by the way).
I have an academic approach on things. I want to understand before committing. I will need to be educated.

I knew for sure we are deceived. Globally. All the time. It is just a question of Market, Money and Power.
Couple of proofs ?
Remember Irak ?

More seriously. Back to our heal business. Have a glass of Milk. Or Three ?


Well, this web site is sponsored by the American Milk Processors.

Or in Canada....Get A Load of Milk.

Let s check with our favorite sources of crazy vegan athletes.


(it is a) red-herring debate, in my opinion, fueled by a campaign of disinformation perpetuated by powerful and well-funded meat and dairy lobbies that have convinced society—including medical professionals, educators, and government bureaucrats responsible for the proverbial food pyramid—that we need these products to live.

By way of example, we’ve been taught since birth that “Milk Does a Body Good,” primarily because it’s high in calcium. And without it, you risk brittle bones and osteoporosis. But the truth begs to differ. Setting aside the fact that milk contains saturated fat, cholesterol, and, typically, certain hormones, the acidic nature of dairy products can actually promote calcium deficiency, which over time can lead to osteoporosis.

Not even considering the quality of the milk itself, just the amount of calories in a glass of milk, in a country plagued by obesity, is laughable. Why you do not want to drink water ?

I took one example, there is plenty, I think you get the point. 
Then what did I do ?

Well, started googled "Surfer Diet". A surfer cannot be wrong, can he ?



And then, starting from there. I double checked. Triple checked. Read books. Googled a lot. Then you begin to see a pattern that- kind of- make sense. Some people have been there. A lot, in fact. In fact, it is everywhere, the Truth. It is hiding there, at the margin of the mainstream communication channels. Kind of reserved to an elite, who can pay for nutrition advice from some doctor they believe in. Or some illuminated people deep into the wood. You cannot teach people. Then they just tell their stories. They write a blog, that very few read. Because you do not want to market this. There is no value to be created to eat healthy. 

But far from the fad diets and commercial websites, you have a couple of guys who wanted to feel better , to improve performance. And which I like with that, is : YOU CAN MEASURE PERFORMANCE. Then you can measure your diet. and Its sustainability.


My point is : Truth lies somewhere. Just have to find it. I found mine ;)

I can hear you, Well this is food. We got it. Mass market, distributors, ok.
Runnning shoes .. Really ?


    Could that be only marketing ?


Indeed.

The feet are one of the most important sensory organs of the body. When we encase our feet in shoes we risk losing sensory awareness and motor control of the muscles of the foot and lower leg that help us stabilize ourselves for upright movement. There is more of a tendency to “heel strike” when wearing thicker running shoes. This is both jarring for the spine and inefficient for forward motion.



Orthotics, thought to fix foot problems, interfere in the ability of the feet to absorb impact properly and adjust to changes in terrain (as in trail running). Thankfully there’s a trend toward more minimalistic and “barefoot” running shoes, which allows both the foot and lower leg muscles to move naturally.


Hopefully at this point, you read already 'Born to Run' and discovered about the lies that sporting company made us digest since all those years.



Food. Shoes. War. Ok, I got it. Oil and money. Nothing new.
..

Make your own opinion. Read. Search. Google. Use your common sense to filter the b**t. I am tired of eating predigest knowledge. I have to go to the source. I have to educate myself. Since school, I lost this habit (if even school ever educated me). Yeah, I thought that was good to end a that long post on something as strong as :

 Educate myself





Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Body Awareness (continued)

Eh, I got already my next post, but it looks something always pops up.
Today, it was a visit to another Physical Therapist and friend, Heather.


Well, the good news. She kind of agreed on the diagnostic made that far. Tight hips, tight everything in fact, weak glutes ...
Hum, this one is new. You meant, non existent glutes, right ?

Now i am back on my back.


The big difference with Heather's approach to your normal PT, is she mixes a lot of "holistic", "fusion", "global" considerations in her work. Like Yoga. And Movement. And this is useful, because, stretching got its limits. The first one is you cannot stretch a muscle that is always contracted. 

Quoting a Somatic Expert:
"Yes, PT almost always diagnoses muscle problems as weakness, when in fact muscles are so tight that they can no longer function properly. Are they weak? Yes, in their functionality and control, but not always in their tonus and contractibility."


I am glad that my wife pushed me to meet Heather (they used to work together), because it gives another view to the same problem, and new tools. But in my guts, I was feeling something was not right, not complete with the PT work too. Like we are strengthening core, stretching all around, but not really dealing with real thing. I feel better for sure, but the pain and trigger are still there, sleeping.
Heather diagnostic was clear: Over-use of the hips and flexor, we need to reprogram the brain to use different (and for now weaker) muscles.

Kind of remind me of what I am playing with, right, you guessed it, Somatics.

The only answer to learned, habituated muscle tightness is to actively re-set muscle length at the level of the central nervous system.  This means that the brain must be engaged in the action. 


Going back to the subject of this post. Body awareness. Next step, was a simple exercise, to strengthen the lateral hips.
Something like that.

Guess what. I was not using the right muscles to do it. This explaining the fact that this exercise was triggering intense pain every  time I tried it before. And I was not using the right muscle, because those muscles are so nonexistent at this point, that I cannot even trigger them voluntarily. Then, to trigger them automatically, as an habit, there is a leap. Not using the right muscles, over-use of the wrong one. Sounds simple ?

Remember the time I locked my shoulder after paddling. Not using my back. Ouch. That hurt. Still does. Thought I was going to get another tendinitis, this time at the shoulder. Not good.

Long, powerful strokes. Pull from the lats.



What's my point ? There is a technique for each movement, and if you do not do it correctly, using and feeling the correct muscles, you are doing way worst than any good. And If you try to "walk it off", you may end up hurting yourself. I know: I did it. I am still paying the price of this dumb mentality. Now I know how to feel after exercising : Soreness, Not Pain. And to make the distinction, I am trying to ...

LISTEN TO MY BODY 

As my friend said,

But do it CORRECTLY !

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

This is not about me tonight

But him.

Aloha, Barack !




As he is Hawaiian...



...and bodysurfer ...

All politics aside, he is certainly a cool guy.
I guess we can rejoice ;)


Monday, November 5, 2012

Time for answers


Not sure if you paid attention, but so far, all titles were questions. Yes, this was a stylistic attempt.
Now, it is time for answers. If we are lucky. Or more questions.
Anyway, today subject is

Awareness - Listen to the body.

I do believe I waited too much. On a lot of points.

I smoke for 5 years and had a very bad cough for a long time before I gave up.
I had an infinite count of hangovers and headache until I decided to drink responsibly. (which means, almost nothing anymore).
I had hip pain for 6 or 7 years until I decided to go see a physical therapist.
I had to reach almost 80Kg until I realized that i should limit salami consumption to the bare minimum. And Pim's.
The Enemy. The only one. Really. This guy is soooo good.

I had back pain for a countless number of years until I look into my sitting posture and raised my computer's monitors.

Some people got an interesting opinion about dependencies.
Rich Roll, my mentor in term of middle age revamp, believes:




According to Compton, Morgan’s dietary shift from a primarily plant-based diet to an entirely fast-food regimen effectively and quite rapidly replaced his healthy gut flora with a pathogenic microbial ecology that thrived specifically on the ingredients present in McDonald’s food. This new unhealthy, or “bad,” ecology of microflora simply required McDonald’s to live. Thus, it hijacked Morgan’s nervous system, sending messages to his brain and throughout his body that translated into an acute craving for more of these foods.


Basically, your brain is controlled by the flora in your stomach ;)

No comments. The guy is fit, he is certainly right.


Let s come back to body adaptation. I do believe in body adaptation. I've seen it at work. I do believe in habits and I do believe the body indulge in those. And this is a vicious circle.
Well, obviously addictions are for real, as well.

There will be signs !

However, even if the body adapts, it is only partially and it takes time. There will be signs.
Coughing. Headaches. Limping. Lost of energy.Lost of consciousness. Tons of signs.
Just have to listen to them.

If you are in pain, it’s your body telling you that something is wrong, and to lay off whatever activity you are doing that is causing the pain. So many times I have ignored the pain and have tried to “work through it”. I can tell you that from experience, this is a terrible mentality to have. Often times our ego is too big to accept that we are not invincible, or have limitations. The ego is our worst enemy, and recognizing when it is flaring up, and controlling it, is a skill that develops over time.

But, in reality, how do you do ? the sound is subtle. and it comes and goes. How do you know ?

LOG. WRITE. BLOG. NOTE. BLOB. (Ok, last one, i made it up).

Evernote is cool. And on all platforms. And free so far.

LOG.WRITE. BLOG. NOTE.

By the way, "Listen to your body" or "Awareness" is a Yoga Pillar. I did not know. My wife told me this morning: You know, you are reinventing something they found out 3 thousands years ago. Really ? Why did I not start Yoga sooner ?

A little too much ?

Now, I remember why i did not start Yoga then years ago ;)

Surfing is funner !



Sunday, November 4, 2012

Why you should do the dishes more often ?


"The Dishwasher". Cannot believe this is the name of a video game.


The obvious answer should be because it is lower your water and electricity consumption :)
Specially when your hot water is solar based. But because not anyone can live in a place where hot water is solar based, the real answer is because, it is meditative. I think my greatest ideas came doing the dishes. Like this blog. Some could argue, I could do a real 30 min meditation, uncomfortably sitting and as buddhish as I could (My wife could argue), but I prefer washing the dishes.

Yeah, I know, scary, isn't it ?


By the way , Did you read SaltWater Buddha ?

You should. Before the movie waste all the magic.



Let s go back to the purpose of this blog. I am pretty sure you forgot already. Lets resume.
Looking at the post of last week, before this little blog vacation:


I want:
- To kite better
- To surf  bigger
- To sail further


I need
- A Fix for my hip-flexors
- More paddle power , More stamina, More water time
- Find a way to prepare our boat and to practice on it


Well, how do I accomplish that ?
As you remarked, everything goes by 3. (Nintendo rule)

Everything goes by 3. Yeah !


Here are my 3 keys of success:

- Awareness
- Fitness
- Faithfulness

Ok, it was not easy to find 3 terms that ends with 'ness'.  I thought about the Lochness Monster, but it was irrelevant.
Nessie. Or a worm in a bathtub. You decide.


Each of those sub divide in 3 other basic principles

-Awareness
        - Attention to the body
        - Self Education
        - Consciousness

- Fitness
        - Nutrition
        - Body wellness
        - Cross training

- Faithfulness
        - Trust
        - Belief
        - Focus


3 times 3, 9, 3 times 9, 999, 666, The number of the beast.

Did i just say "FOCUS"  ??!!??

Now we are done with the conceptual stuff, we will see how that applies in practice to those goals and resolutions. Remember, I am a pragmatic person, with an engineering background. Maybe I am a poet or a philosopher as well. Maybe, but unlikely ;)


On the way to the illumination...


2500 Miles from Hawaii to California. Not there yet.