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Resistance Key:  Ideas and Considerations from the EQUIVITA STAFF, October 2020.

10/30/2020

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Sometimes it can be hard to visualize how a muscle works to move a body, but I think that even a simple understanding can make a significant difference in one’s ability to ensure they are getting what they want from a muscle. The considerations of what you want from a muscle could span from size, to strength, to endurance; and all start with one simple premise: a muscle can only contract. I realize it is simplifying an entire study of kinesiology to say this, but it is the foundation of how I conceptualize movement of the body. 

I am not a big believer in the need to know the names of muscles, because I think people can get caught up in the name and fail to place the importance on where a muscle connects. The point where a muscle connects that is most central to the body is called its origin and the connection at the other end, furthest from the center of the body, is its insertion. If we consider a simple muscle that has only these two points, origin and insertion (unlike many skeletal muscles which have multiple connections), and apply the understanding that a muscle can only contract, then we know that activation of that muscle must bring those two points closer together. Sometimes one point holds and the other moves, sometimes the movement is limited by an opposing muscle and sometimes they both move, but that muscle's contraction can only work to pull those two points closer to each other.   

The next thing to understand about a muscle is that a skeletal muscle contains lots of different muscle fiber types. From maximal force production to fatigue resistance, these fiber types have different capabilities and a mix of them enables a muscle to meet a greater range of demands. And, since the body is designed to adapt, the demands placed on the muscle will determine the fibers that the muscle develops. 

This is not new information because it is how we experience our bodies. That said, it doesn’t stop the surprising soreness a person who has been resistance training for months has when they spend a few hours gardening and say things like “I thought I was in better shape!” There is some crossover, but the body is extremely good at efficient adaptation. If all you ask of your muscles is to be able to walk for 20 minutes, then you can probably stand for 20 minutes, but squats even just with bodyweight may be too far outside of the crossover window.    

The specificity of adaptation is even so exact that there are studies demonstrating that strength gains of a muscle that is trained within a few degrees of a 90 degree angle (imagine doing a bicep curl with your elbow staying at roughly the same bend) will only get stronger within that range and slightly outside of it. The rest of the muscle will not get the benefit. 

This genius adaptation enables the body to perform at maximum efficiency, but in our modern day leisurely lifestyle where Calories are plentiful, efficiency does not always seem helpful. In fact, it can seem like the body is actively working against you. But in actuality it is just trying to give you what you want in the easiest possible way. 

So, what goals do you have for your body? You can list power, endurance, size/appearance, etc., just know that each may require a different dedication of time and effort. Applying realistic limits of time and effort is where most start to prioritize goals. The goal of the moment is also a great way to keep yourself engaged with your program and, thus, provide some variety to your lifelong fitness training.


As always, let me know how I can help.
Adam 

RESISTANCE AND MASSAGE​
​
Resistance. What does it mean? In the world of EQUIVITA, we often use it in the form of "the impeding, slowing, or stopping effect exerted by one material thing on another", in relation to resistance bands and those damned external rotations. While this is typically our approach, a lot of folks out there utilize resistance training in their lives and workouts. The resistance bands try to slow or impede the movement(s) we are asked to go through, which helps build strength and muscle. The bands actually cause microscopic tears in the muscle tissue, which are typically healed quickly by the body, and cause the muscles to grow stronger, or have more tone. Resistance training can also mean increasing your muscle's endurance, meaning that they may be able to put up with those damned external rotations for even more reps!! How great is that?!!  

How does this relate to massage? Can it relate to massage? I think yes, in a couple of ways, one of which may be a little more abstract than the other. First, we know massage can help with increasing blood flow and helping to diminish the effects of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness-that post workout sore that you get that makes it hard going up or down stairs. By getting a massage after a workout, we can help flush out the old fluids that are in the muscle tissues, and rehydrate them with new nutrients, blood and water. Because we help bring in new nutrients with massage, it can also help those little tears we get from resistance training heal faster! This all works together to help our bodies function a bit better, and create strength. 

Another definition of resistance is "the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument". This is where the more abstract idea of resistance comes in to play. For some of us this won't be as abstract, but for others, it can be.  What do I mean by this? What I mean is simply this: I have had many people say to me that they "just aren't massage people". I understand this to a certain degree, and while I may have been in that category for a time in my life, it was mostly because I hadn't tried massage before. The reason I bring this more abstract resistance up is because I often hear conversations or read articles about folks having pain in their bodies, whether from injury, surgery, or they've just moved wrong. I almost always want to ask if they've tried to get a massage! If I am able to ask, I sometimes get the "I'm not a massage person" response, which almost always leads me to asking "why?". As a professional who has been in the massage industry for close to 20 years, the science behind it makes sense to me, and, if someone will give me the chance, I will try to help them understand it by having a conversation with them.

In my mind there are a couple of major reasons why someone doesn't choose massage. One is that they've never had it before, and they don't know what to expect. The second one is that the person thinks that it will just "work itself out" and they will be fine...eventually. What if we could be more open to massage, and not as resistant to it, and the benefits that it can have? I'm a big fan of being more proactive with our health care, and helping people learn about ways they can take control of how they care for their bodies.

I love what I do and want to share it as much as I can, so, if I can help folks perhaps become less resistant to massage as a part of their health care, then perhaps they may be able to enjoy their resistance training even more. 

Cheryl
THE ORGAN OF FORM
​
If it matters to you that you feel strong, and know that you can have a strong body, then I want you to understand that a portion of the powers of strength lie in your ability to engage tension and force through your muscles. The other portion of your strength lies in your ability to guide tension and force through your fascia.

All the limbs of EQUIVITA study and apply work that supports muscle, and all the limbs of EQUIVITA study and support work that supports fascia, that’s how much it matters.

The Organ.
Fascia is called the organ of form. It is essentially fibers--either stiff like collagen, or bendy like elastin and reticulin--combine with "jelly" or glue that binds these fibers together and serves to lubricate them from friction, and the water that supports the cellular health of the fibers and the glue, allowing it to remodel. The recipe of fiber, glue, and water presents in various states of density throughout every muscle, organ, joint or bone in your body. Fascia when it is made up of jelly and bendy fiber it provides the structure of webby tissue like you pull off the chicken meat. When fascia is more collagen fiber and less jelly, it will be of a stiffer structure, like in a ligament or tendon. Finally water to fascia is like blood to muscle, it travels into the cells of fascial glue to bring them nourishment, and keep them pliable.

Those who have trained with me, often hear me talk about taking care of their "catsuit" on occasion. We aim to keep it pliable and responsive, versus kinked/coiled up and braced out.

Power Delivered.
Practices that support fascial fitness are still being realized, because the tissue is in the earlier stages of our understanding. According to Tom Myers, founder of Anatomy Trains, there are 4 markers of movement designed to train fascia.

Supporting elasticity:
● Buoyant movement, which seeks to support or even gain elasticity with your body's tendons, and fascial net. Movement like bouncing from foot to foot very lightly for a couple minutes.
● Preparing a windup movement before a movement. An example Myers uses is the windup before a pitch.

Programing variation in movement over repetitive movement:
● Constructing whole body movements that change in position with gravity, change in tempo and change in amount of load.
● Constructing adaptive movement courses, like parkour, dance, and some yoga sequences. A mix up of movement, not like isolated predictable movements of lifting for muscles using weights or machines.

Programming that addresses the complex sensory feedback of fascia and best supporting its ability to provide communication/feedback to the body:
● Whereas muscle has spindle fibers that measure length change, fascia has 10 different receptors that relay a variety of programming feedback. If you have ever used fascial rolling to loosen up, you may recall that there are ways to compress fascia to release tension, ways to shear pressure the fascia to move tension, ways to "wring" it out and so forth.
● Therefore shaking a body part before balancing through it--like a leg--wakes up the receptors and gives greater voluntary engagement between the limb and the user. Rolling an area not only loosens it, but prepares it for higher quality communication with its user.

Power Restricted.
As with any living tissue, how we use it sometimes gets us into spaces of tension we have a hard time shifting. When fascia is restricted it has lost some of its elastic behavior, and it’s ability to self-hydrate. Instead of being bendy it takes on the expression of rigid and held. Strength withheld. In subsequent articles we will focus on how myofascial release techniques, realized through self treatments and delivered from our expert fascial focused massage therapists, and the breath work delivered by Carla in her yoga teaching, can help shift states of braced out, tense fascia.

For now, get back to training and look for more fascial movement sharing from me in the future!

Of course, if you have any questions, I always encourage you to email me at twise@equivita.com

In good health,
Tami

Fascial Fitness Training in the Neuromyofascial Web.
https://cdn.anatomytrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Fascial_Fitness__Training_in_the_Neuromyofascial_Web1.pdf
FIIT RESISTANCE

​With the weather turning, I don’t know about you, but I’m slowly getting into a more comfy, cozy mood rather than a get-out-and-go mood. I’ve started doing more HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts in my living room which help me get my cardio in, but it also works with my own body weight to give me a good resistance workout. I like to mix it up, alternating between a handful of different HIIT workouts each week. One of my most hated (and thus favorite) move that I’ve been integrating is a jump squat (jumping up from a controlled squat). This, in addition to a myriad of other moves, is helping work muscles that I don’t typically get to work when I’m just running or lifting since they require me to balance myself and produce enough force to get myself from one position to the other. Let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot of jumping I do on a regular basis! 

I know HIIT workouts are typically talked about when discussing cardio exercise, but they can make for great resistance workouts as well. Free weights, such as kettlebells and barbells, and bands can be added if more resistance is desired. I’m not personally there yet, but I’m working on it! HIIT workouts are also a perfect way for me to get a healthy 30 minute exercise in on a busy day. And as usual, don’t forget proper form/posture! 

Katherine
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What's more important, that you recover? Or how fast you recover?

10/29/2020

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When I first started working in Physical Therapy facilities one of the common questions that I heard patients ask was about how they could speed up their healing. The Therapist’s response was that you can maximize your body’s healing, but you cannot speed it up. Being so new to the industry I didn’t know if this was true, but I did know that I didn’t think it mattered.  

I don’t typically like using machines as examples for the body, but for this purpose I think it is easy to imagine that if you have a car which was designed to drive at a max speed of 140mph and you only drive at max 70mph, then asking how to make your car go faster isn’t a question about how to increase your car’s potential maximum speed from 140 to 150mph because that increase in potential is not something you will experience. However, if you make that vehicle a smooth ride at 100mph then you have significantly increased your experience of the car’s speed. 

Now, back to health. If you knew that you rarely got illnesses and that when you did your symptoms didn’t seem very intense and/or didn’t last very long, would you have as much concern over getting sick? If you recovered fast from injuries and activities that may cause damage in another body and are at most an irritation in your own, would your level of fear of injury change? The most true answer is probably “maybe” but that is not as fun, so let’s go with “yes!”.

Many of us don’t consider a desire to speed up healing until we are in a position where our lifestyle has been impacted.  To optimize your body’s ability to fight off illness and speed up healing is before you need it. When your body is already challenged with fighting off an illness, recovering from an injury or dealing with some other significant stressor... well that would not seem the right time to add more to it. Increasing our resiliency is a process and takes continual attention. Exercise, diet, rest, recreation are the components at our disposal to assist us with preparing ourselves to be resilient. 

I know that this month we are focusing on the Resistance Key of Fitness, but that is a bit too simple to use the body’s adaptation to strength training. Instead, I would like to use the example of yogurt. Sure, everyone knows that eating live and active yogurt cultures is good for the microbiota in your gut, and that a healthy thriving microbiome is closely tied to our immune response, but the active cultures in yogurt are beneficial because they threaten the healthy microbiota. When the yogurt bacteria start to propagate the existing microbiota respond by propagating and growing more closely together, thus providing no safe space for the yogurt bacteria and they along with other undesirables get moved along out of the body. 

This is just one of the many, many genius ways that the body is continually adapting to become more resilient. I like this example because it demonstrates that the body can build resilience even when it is exposed to something that may not be very harmful and it demonstrates that when we focus our intention of working with the body and its natural reactions, we can have a profound impact on our health.

As always, let me know I can help,
Adam
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The Nutrition Key:  Ideas and Considerations from the EQUIVITA Staff, September 2020.

10/3/2020

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MASSAGE AND NUTRITION

​Massage and Nutrition can be tough to tackle. One of the big parts of nutrition that is relatively easy (for most) is water. It doesn't sound like nutrition on the surface, but I think it is a big part of our nutrition. Our bodies are comprised of water, some 60-70% of our body!!! Now, these percentages aren't written in stone, and we know that everyone's bodies vary from person to person, but, it's a good average to think about when we consider water and nutrition. From this, what can we glean? Well, for starters, water is good for us!!! Our body needs water in a way to be a catalyst for many different functions of our body and one of those is that water helps us with digestion. It helps keep things hydrated in our gut, so that the chemicals that are in there can break down our food easier, and deliver it to where it needs to go. It also helps keep our muscles hydrated so that we can contract them and use them when we need to, without being overly tight. It helps lubricate our joints as well. There are so many benefits to water when we use it as nutrition for our whole body!  

Another thing to think about when it comes to nutrition, is how our bodies feel after we have eaten something. Are there things that make you feel sluggish, or slow, or ready for a nap (hello Carbs!)? Are there things that you eat that give you energy, or perhaps a snack that helps you not be as hungry when it comes time to eat dinner? Do you find some things you eat seem to "last longer" in your system than others? We all have probably had these different foods at some point, but what have we done with that information, and what does that have to do with massage? For some folks, eating a lot of carbs can lead to bloating, or retaining water, which even though it's water, doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good thing to hold on to. How does massage help this? Well, massage can help swelling, or edema, by flushing it out, and making our bodies refilter it, so to speak, and send that extra fluid where it needs to go. It's similar to putting your feet up at the end of the day, if they have become swollen a bit around the ankles. That elevation can help give the body signal to start pumping that water out of the ankles, and back into the body to be refiltered. You may sometimes notice your ankles are a bit swollen at the end of the day, particularly if you've been on your feet all day, or stuck at a desk all day, and maybe wonder what you can do about it? There are a couple of things that help. One is definitely massage. We can massage the legs and push up toward the hips, and force the fluid out of the joints (this is typically where we see the swelling/edema), so that there is better movement in the joint, and less fluid around it. The other you may notice already, is sleep. When we get to sleep, we rest with our heart roughly at the same level as the legs, and because we are resting, the rest of our body doesn't consciously have to work, so the circulatory system can kick in and work a little easier, which can help take the fluids away from where they have collected. Massage can affect multiple systems of the body, and this is only one small example of how. 

Perhaps moving forward, when you think about what to eat, you end up thinking about how it makes you feel, and what effect could that have on your massage? If you aren't hydrated enough, do you become more sore the day after massage? If you ate something heavy before a massage, was the massage as good as the last time when you had a lighter meal beforehand? Our bodies process things in different ways, and no one person has exactly the same response as another--they may be similar, but they could also be polar opposite responses. All this to say that massage and nutrition can be fun to play with, and see how your body responds to what you give it. 

Cheryl

SEASONAL FOODS

​In the Ayurvedic approach to living, it is suggested that we subtly modify our diet in response to the changing seasons. As the weather shifts, so does our digestive fire.

Moving into cooler weather, our bodies are more inclined to happily digest warm, cooked foods. Intuitively, we tend to make this shift by cooking more soups and casseroles with warming spices.

Something to be mindful of is that we are able to access almost all foods all the time at our grocery stores with little regard for the season. We sometimes forget that maybe salads and raw foods aren’t what is called for in the cooler seasons.

The simplest approach is to look at what is closest to local and in season. Then cook that. Generally, think warm and cozy foods.

There are, of course exceptions and individual considerations, as we are all unique. That said, these general guidelines can help us keep happy digestion in the transition of seasons.

Let us know what questions you have.

Warmly,
Carla

WHAT INFORMS YOUR DIET BELIEFS?

There is no one right diet for everyone, we are all different. Click here to download your personalized diet plan that is designed especially for you. Did you do it? Did you try to click? I know it is crazy, but I have seen this very thing on diet and fitness sites (with fitness it is specific to download your exercise program tailored for your body). I even recently sat through a continuing education webinar where the “educator” basically said that everyone was unique and needed to determine what was right for them but that we should all be eating a plant-based low fat and mostly carbohydrate diet. I seriously don’t even think she recognized anything wrong with what she was saying. 

I would contend that more disturbing is that when you start down the path of research to find out where our diet recommendations originate, you can quickly find yourself stymied. Dietary fat was considered bad for a long time and only now does it seem that people are realizing that story was fabricated. The story came from research studies like those that demonstrated that feeding rabbits animal fat increases the fat they have in their blood and concluding that must be the same in humans and, thus, dietary fat must be the cause of heart disease. Who even thinks this is research that is applicable? 
Or, how about the experts who we only recently found out were secretly paid by the sugar industry to do a comprehensive literature review and conclude that dietary fat is a negative in the 1960s. In the Journal of the American Medical Association! https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.htm

Seriously, when you start down this path it can be very mind-blowing. Even those with the best of intentions can bring their implicit bias and openly worry about the health of people who eat too much protein or fat or not enough fiber, without even considering the beliefs that their concern is founded upon. 

What we know is that there are essential fats and essential proteins, but no essential carbohydrates. What we know is that at least some of the microbiome living in our gut feed on fiber, but in the absence of fiber can feed on the mucosal lining. What we know is that we are genetically different. We have different life experiences and so our epigenetics are different. And our microbiome is unique to each of us. All of these, and perhaps other things we don’t know yet, play a role in how we process food. Without taking those things into consideration, how could one possibly determine the ideal diet for an individual? 
In my work I try to work with the body rather than on the body. For example, rather than determining a diet and forcing adherence to it, this approach begins with your body. Start by paying attention and recording when you eat, what you eat, how much you eat and how you feel. As you consistently track these variables you may start to see patterns and it is very important that you pay attention to those patterns, because they can be insights into how to best change your diet for you. 

I know that this can sound like too much work and you may not be an elite athlete trying to determine how to maximize your body’s performance, but the results of even a few days can sometimes be enough to illuminate assumptions based on your own biases that it might be time to change.

As always, let me know how I can help.
Adam 

HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM OVERVIEW

​Quick reviews and considerations to help you understand the common recommendations of a flu recovery plan!

I took some time to brush up on the immune system, and our bodies immune response this September for both the reasons that nationally we are working our way through a Pandemic (our first), and living in the state of Ohio, in the United States of America located in the Northern Hemisphere... our highest periods of influenza and cold contraction are December to March.

Lots of good news to report here!

The immune response in the body is separated into 2 types, the innate immune response and the adaptive immune response. Some talk about them as the front line of defense (always in the background of our bodies dutifully defending us from pathogens) and the other is the "special forces" (coming up fast and furious to squash a pathogen coup d'état). I limited my focus on nourishment found in supplements and a few behaviors, I did not engage the emotional properties of immune support. As you will find in Katherine’s article, there is much to be considered in the mental fasting nourishment of the immune system. The oral support of both of these systems has a lot of overlap, which I find relaxing--just pull together one-considered-plan and provide yourself sweeping immune support, whether you are maintaining the innate immune system of your body or boosting your adaptive immune response. Table 1.1 below, Immune support at a glance, illustrates how both innate and the adaptive immune system Need many of the same elements.
Table 1.2 shows the primary organs involved in the human immune system that work together to defend your robust health! Cells of the immune system include white blood cells, such as macrophages, as well as T and B lymphocytes. The main lymphoid tissues of the immune system are the thymus and the bone marrow.

Mucus membranes, skin and tonsils create barriers against pathogens. Lymph nodes, the Thymus gland and the bone marrow generate cells of defense that ingest and destroy pathogens and limit their spread. Then you have the filter organs that take the pathogen waste matter and dispose of it.

Table 1.2 Parts of the Immune System
Source: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).
https://www.informedhealth.org/publishing-details.2011.en.html.
Below is a quick run through of common aspects of a speedy and robust flu recovery--ie...things that I have heard for many years that I took some time to investigate. This mini-dive into long discussed aspects of the flu gave me a greater appreciation for some of the proclamations of recovery.

● Fever, while commonly treated as an illness itself, can be helpful. They are largely
self-limiting (so they won’t boil you to death), likewise it would seem the fever exerts an overall adverse effect on the growth of bacteria and on replication of viruses.

● Hydration plays many roles on the path of recovery. Plenty of water will offset the
fluid pulled from the body by the fever, it helps regulate core body temperature, it helps
circulate immune cells throughout your body and helps time-release drugs work to their
greatest efficacy. Simple test: watch your urine: dark yellow = dehydrated; pale yellow = hydrated. Easy place to start.

● Rest, yep you got to! Once the body enters an adaptive immune response mode, it’s
working hard on a microscopic battle to overpower pathogens and restore balance to the
kingdom. That’s hefty work.

● Movement--it’s a funny line, this one. At EQUIVITA, we often say, if you have an obvious fever, you should not exercise. Let your fever be your workout. Then there’s a tipping point. When does an easy going walk in the sunshine flex the lungs, lubricate the joints, and stimulate the pumping systems around the lymph nodes? Things to consider. Plus it makes that afternoon flu nap feel great.

● Bundling up. I think this one is about creature comfort. The muscle aches you feel
during the flu are just your body’s announcement that it has flooded your system with
white blood cells that came to do BUSINESS! General consensus is that muscle aches
are the result of cytokines and interleukins, chemicals released when the white blood cells
are taking down the intruders. Since being cold will cause your muscles to tighten up and
hold the heat in, increasing the pull through the painful muscle, I’d just stay warm quite
frankly.

● Vitamin C. Wondrous supplement, which cannot be sythesized by humans. It seems to be found in most styles of defense issued by your immune system--barrier, antibody generation and propagation, cell cleansing and regulation, damage control. PERVASIVE! You need it to be healthy in your innate immune system and you definitely benefit from it once you are working on recovery in your adaptive immune system.

● Vitamin D. Seems like Vitamin D is a big player in the maintenance of a strong front line of defense in your immune system, the innate system. Vitamin D receptors are found in nearly all the cells in the body, which is why it adds such value to helping the cells function. It also looks like adequate levels of Vitamin D help regulate the inflammatory response of the adaptive immune system.

● Zinc. Zinc holds value in the "first responder" portion of the adaptive response of your
immune system, It’s role in recovery is to help regulate/balance the inflammation
response mounted in defense against pathogens that are trying to overthrow your
immune system. As we see in other emergency response systems (bruising/swelling),
when the tissues are under attack, chemically they call out for the calvary and swelling
comes to the rescue. We haven’t figured out why the inflammation response of the body
can give the impression of being "over the top" and in that the repair becomes an
additional painful part of injury or illness. Thus, the body seems to benefit from a gentle
selection of regulatory assistance (like icing a joint swell, or taking non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs, or using zinc lozenges in the early stages of your body's flu
battle).

● Sunlight exposure to the skin is believed to be a very effective way to synthesize Vitamin
D in the body. Of course we also receive this powerhouse nutrient in our foods and via
supplements. Hey, it’s the sun, it feels good for a reason!

The human immune system, like the human reproductive system, reminds me of how the human has developed in amazing ways to thrive in this world. Keep thriving, and "take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live". (Jim Rohn)

Tami

MENTAL FASTING

I’ve written in the past about how our diet is more than what we eat. By definition it’s a “regular occupation or series of activities in which one participates”. Taking this into consideration, what does your mental diet consist of? What are the things we watch, listen to, read, mental tasks, worries/concerns, thoughts…? Essentially, what are the things that take up our mental space and capacity each day?

Just like with physical nutrition, we want to ensure that we are getting good, healthy mental nutrition. When we make adjustments to our eating habits we usually add healthy foods, eliminate bad foods, become mindful of portions and implement eating when hungry, stopping when full. While these are all great things to do to keep the body in balance physically, we also need to apply these adjustments to our mental health. 

One of the things a lot of people do at the start of making lifestyle adjustments with their physical nutrition is they fast. There are many health benefits of fasting, with more being discovered as science studies it closer. People have been fasting for hundreds of years, and for good reason. Fasting helps us do a sort of “restart” on our physical body. It gives our digestive system a rest, allowing the stomach and intestines a chance to heal and repair. It provides an opportunity for our blood to do bit of “clean up”, removing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and balance blood sugar levels. It’s been shown to aid the body in fighting inflammation as well. Fasting gives us time to be able to tune-in to our body, becoming aware of the subtle signals that may otherwise get overlooked. Now that’s not a complete list by any means, but you get the idea!

So what happens when we start doing mental fasting? Similar to meditation practices that help clear the mind, mental fasting is an active pause. This may sound like an oxymoron, but hear me out!

When we pause, we are temporarily “interrupting” something. Just like when we’re listening to music and we hit the pause button, we’re not abandoning the song or stopping it completely, we’re simply taking a break for a brief moment. When we engage in this process of pausing, putting our energy and attention towards it, we are then taking an active role in the action. By doing this, we can move into the conductor seat and direct this pause; gently easing into it, having control during, and gradually hitting the play button when we’re ready.

Sometimes our mind can seem rather overwhelming. We have roughly 60,000 thoughts per day (that’s over 40 a minute!), and an estimated 50,000 of those are negative in nature. WOW! That’s over 80 percent of the things going through our mind being negative, low-vibrational chatter. If you’re like me, most of those negative thoughts I didn’t even notice I was having, let alone begin to know how to change. Subsequently, I didn’t realize how my thoughts, and all that noise, was effecting my daily life. When I started adding mental fasting into my daily practice, I learned way more than I ever expected to about how my mind operated, what it was “feeding” off of, and how that nutrition (or lack thereof) was playing out through my actions. 

Mental fasting works similar to “normal” fasting, but the way in which we arrive there is different. 

How to take an active pause:
  1. Find a calm, quiet environment where you’re able to focus and not be distracted by your exterior/surroundings. Come to a comfortable position that you can be in for an extended period of time.
  2. Now we can begin to tune-in to our mind. For the first few minutes, simply observe the phrases, words, thoughts, memories, etc. that come up. Let things flow while you become the observer.
  3. Next, start to assess each one without judgement. See how a particular thought feels and what kind of emotion it’s attached to. Is it warm, relaxing, uplifting? Or maybe stressful, painful, depressing? They may even feel neutral, indifferent. All of these are okay! Avoid labeling any as “bad” or “good”, just notice how they feel.
  4. With focus and attention, pick out one or two that you don’t like the way they feel. You might also pick those revolving thoughts about that trip you’re taking soon and all the things you still need to do. These will be what we fast!
  5. Still in your active pause, practice noticing when this/these thought(s) move into the mind. We need to be able to identify them — the sooner the better. For me, it was like a reel on repeat in the beginning, playing over and over.
  6. When the thought(s) come up, mentally tell them stop! Sometimes I would even go as far as to say in my head, “Nope! You’re not welcome today, go away!”. Whatever it is that helps you break that thought the moment you notice it.
  7. Then actively move your attention! Whether it’s to a more calm, happier, relaxing thought, or to something physical like concentrating on taking full breaths. The point is that you’ve stopped the thought, and redirected it.


Physically fasting from food can seem easier in the sense that you just stop, don’t eat. With the mind, telling someone to stop thinking can sound like telling them to stop breathing! Well, it’s not that extreme, but it can feel that way. The workings of the mind can be rather autonomous at times — the mind having a mind of its own! But with practice, and mental fasting, we can rein it in.

This can be practiced intermittently, like food fasting is, and will gradually integrate into your life daily. The more you practice, the easier it becomes, and eventually we reprogram our thoughts. It’s amazing how many changes happen from mental fasting: decrease in mental burnouts, boost in confidence, better mental energy and focus, better self-esteem, and so many other wonderful benefits!

A mental fasting anecdote:

When I mentioned that mental fasting had trickled down into effecting my daily actions, I mean little things that made a BIG difference. These effects end up being non-linear and more like a web. When I first started, it became annoying how many times I had to tell myself “stop” when a thought of insecurity came up. It showed up in so many forms: I don’t have the right clothes to fit in for that event; I don’t like the way my hair looks today; I’m not well travelled like they are; I don’t know as much about that as they do; what if I they don’t like me; what if I say the wrong thing and sound stupid… You get the point! I would avoid going to public events, even when they sounded really fun, because of all these negativities I had swirling in my head. And, of course, I would be harsh on myself the next day for missing it, and constantly feeling left out — by my own doing!

Every day it felt like I was constantly redirecting my mind. Then, slowly, I had to do it less and less. It wasn’t like feeling a “click”, or an “I finally got it” moment. It was actually me talking about it to a friend before I realized I hadn’t consciously noticed having to redirect myself in a while. It was that very same week when I went to an art event — yes, all by myself! — and had great conversations with new people, learned some new things, and had an enjoyable time. Hooray! That next morning I felt more confident, proud of myself, and then picked a few more self-deprecating thoughts to fast!

All the best,
Katherine
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