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Resistance Key: Ideas and Considerations from the EQUIVITA staff May 2020

6/8/2020

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Ayurvedic Seasonal Influence and Resistance Work
In the world of Ayurveda, the understanding is that the seasons have an influence on us that we do well to work with/respond to in some form of harmony. We see this in intuitive lifestyle ways, getting hygge and eating soups and stews in the winter, being outdoors and playful picnicking with salads and fruits in the summer. 

We can also respond to seasonal changes through our exercise, harnessing an aspect of our lifestyle in a way that helps us feel in the flow. 

In the spring, the primary (or loudest) elements in nature are water and earth. That combination gives us lush plants and juiciness in the body; it can also create mud. These elements, when balanced, provide us with cohesiveness and stability. And along the lines of mud, these elemental influences can also tend to get us a little bogged down. So, how do we communicate with these elements within ourselves to help keep dynamic balance? 

In the realm of resistance training, that might look like building a little extra heat, warming up a little longer. It might be more repetition, whether within a set of exercises or the number of sets themselves. Possibly adding some pulsing in your movements, to disrupt stagnation or congestion. It might be a booty shaking dance break between exercises. (<—- I’m a fan of this one) 

This is a small window into our empowered options in our resistance work, and there are lots of other practices (yoga, pranayama, nutritional choices) that can support us in the different seasons. If you’d like to know more, let us know, and of course let us know what questions you have!

Warmly,
Carla ​

Reconditioning Required: moving rubber CAN make you stronger!
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​So maybe I was a little resistant to resistance bands. I’ve been lifting for over half of my life. This girl learned she could lift heavy free weights back in the late 90’s, and she still loves to lift heavy weights. I feel strong -- in part because I move big weights. Being separated from free weights, while I would not choose this, I enjoy the environment of adaptation, so I took a tour through a host of home training tools. On this tour, resistance bands seemed to dominate in the world of the home workout gear of choice. Huh...Is that really tough? Can you really drive your muscles to adapt to more strength moving RUBBER?!

Now even the sturdiest of us, every now and then, wind up in ‘required reconditioning’ (perhaps from trying to impersonate David Lee Roth, or Gabby Douglas, or Wonder Woman). It was in times of injury, and small muscle stability work (think shoulder external rotation) that I relate to resistance bands. A therapy tool, a stretch buddy, or better awareness (or ability to isolate) of the small boring muscles that support the stability of something bigger and cooler—that’s the rap I gave ‘resistance bands'. I did not categorize resistance bands as a way to put on much muscle, but rather as a way to keep my muscles...well groomed.

Reconditioning required.

To build modest to beastly-light muscle power you need to demand (overload) more of your muscles than your muscles are used to so that the body will adapt to your demands. To review: the realization made by me, was that resistance bands were a solid option to the goal of BUILDING muscle, not to rehab it or stretch it, but BUILD IT.

Whether a free weight, body weight, or elastic tension, you have to have the same components to build muscle: resistance and overload (create tension on your muscles they are not use to), recovery, and progressive challenge to the strength adaptations of your body. So we can stress the muscle using resistance with gravity, an added weight (free weights or machines) or elastic tension. Sufficiently overloaded muscles will adapt over time, so they can manage the added stress. Bam! You just got stronger!

Free weights use loads and gravity to provide tension. Free weights are SWEET and you have to obey the laws of gravity...what a downer (😬🙄). Body weight work follows similar rules. The force will always be downward, so you have to position your body in a way that allows you to target your muscles correctly.

With resistance bands, the force is caused by elastic tension—the more you stretch the band, the more tension is created. This means you can target your muscles from any direction. FREEDOM!!!💥🦸 ♀ 💥 The freedom of position of the body helps the individual isolate a muscle group much easier than always having to be beholden to the downward force of gravity. Finally, resistance bands match our muscles natural strength curve, in that the strength of the band varies with range (more stretch = more resistance).

Most muscles increase in strength up to a certain point during a movement, after which they become weaker. When you use free weights you are limited in that you can only use a weight which your muscles are capable of moving in their weakest position--usually at the beginning of the movement. This means that when they are in their strongest position, they are not receiving an adequate level of resistance.

With elastics, the movement is easy at the beginning and progressively becomes more difficult. You get the highest level of resistance exactly where you need it most – the point at which the muscles are in their strongest position.

Where to start?

There are essentially 4 types of bands:
● Tube bands (we have those at EQUIVITA), then in that group ‘braided tube' -- the very popular TRX system is in that classification I believe.
● Flat loop bands
● Flat bands (like Thera band that the PT’s provide for stretching)
● Superbands (we have these at EQUIVITA), are big loop bands that are thick layered
latex.

If you have questions or epiphanies please email me at twise@equivita.com

In good health,
Tami

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Determine the goal. Design the plan

6/8/2020

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I credit Neil Degrasse Tyson for this fabulous statement, "An approximation of a deeper truth". It took me so many years in the industry to understand the importance of this tool. And the perspective that for much of the time, the short story is enough. 

As an example, one day I was in a gym and one of the gym’s personal trainers was working with a couple of clients close to where I was lifting. One of the clients asked the trainer why he was instructing them to turn the palm up when doing bicep curls with dumbbells. The trainer responded by saying that is how you can get a fuller contraction of the bicep. And that was enough for the client. Now, this might not seem a shocker to you but it certainly made me think about the way that I would answer the question. The bicep muscle’s primary job is supination of the forearm (turning the palm up and out, so the pinky finger is closest to the shoulder), not bending of the elbow. Actually, for the greatest contraction of the bicep, you would want to put the shoulder into a flexed position while you bend the elbow and supinate the forearm. You cannot effectively do this with dumbbells because the pull of gravity would then be more through the elbow joint….and somewhere, probably before this point, is where the client just stopped listening.

The point to this is not about the bicep nor about how much I continually have to learn. Rather, the point is that relevance matters more than fact. For instance, it is a fact that your muscles need a day of rest after lifting. But that rest is only to ensure the muscle will rebuild from an intense enough exercise that caused damage to the muscle. If, however, you are doing exercise for the purpose of correcting postural imbalances, retraining biomechanics or even just mitigating muscle loss then taking the day of rest could actually work against your goals. 

From rehab to function to performance, the specifics of how you train the muscle depends on the goals that you are trying to achieve. Amount of resistance, type of resistance, speed of repetition, number of reps, length of rest, number of sets and frequency of exercise bouts are all considerations relative to your program. And all of these fall lower in priority than how you move your body to perform the exercise. To simplify, your goal is to activate the muscle with the appropriate dose to stimulate the desired response. Without focus on ensuring you are using the muscles that you are trying to get the response from, then your muscles will not be stimulated to give you the response you want. 

For the biceps, this means that just rotating your hand while lifting will not give you the greatest contraction of the bicep. You actually have to focus on contracting the bicep to make that movement in the right position for that response. But, if you never knew that there was a deeper truth or in this case something that would be more effective, you might never think to ask more and go deeper.  

While I know that not everyone has the fascination with the body that I have, I do believe that a greater understanding can enable people to be far more effective with the results they can achieve with their body.  

Determine the goal. Design the plan. Focus on form. And, as alway, let me know how I can help.

Adam
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Flexibility Key:  Ideas and considerations from the EQUIVITA Staff, April 2020

5/7/2020

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Flexibility through yoga, more than being bendy

It seems that flexibility has ended up being the perfect Key for this month. More than perhaps ever before we are being asked to exist flexibly. To be flexible with ourselves and our responses and reactions to the times. To be flexible with others as they, too, navigate territory that feels uncharted.

In a yoga practice, much of what we do on a mat in class or at home is meant to influence our interactions with what happens off that mat outside of our practice. 

Yes, sometimes you see yogis doing neat, bendy things with their bodies. That piece is the tip of the iceberg. Manipulating and moving the body can have far reaching effects, well beyond whether or not you can touch your toes (You can, just bend your knees. See? Flexible.) The truth of the matter is that all the postures and movement are preparation for sitting in meditation. Let’s simplify that; all the practices help us be present with witnessing what is. That’s it. When we have moments of being present with what is, our systems remember. Whether in discomfort of a pose held for longer than we’d like, or a meditation that makes our mind go into monkey chatter, these are the edges where we purposefully practice experiencing presence. We enhance our flexibility by being able to choose our response. 

The trick comes along when we realize it’s like fitness and other life-enhancing endeavors. Gaining flexibility (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially) requires commitment, curiosity and a comprehensive approach. The good news is that it needn’t be arduous. As you may have heard us suggest in others of the Five Keys, it’s often a good idea to start with one or two things to try, and stay with it for a couple weeks before assessing what’s next. 

Here is a suggestion (no contraindications): This will take 5 minutes.

Turn on some music you like, doesn’t matter what. You just have to like it.

Sit comfortably in neutral posture. Inhale tip the pelvis forward, exhale tip it back. Do this for 1 minute.

Sit for 3 minutes and breathe into the belly, ribs and chest. Keep it mellow, belly relaxed, no need to strain on inhale or exhale.

Notice how you feel, use your senses. The answer doesn’t matter. The point is that you sit and feel. 

Then do it everyday for 2 weeks. Let me know what questions you have!

Warmly,
Carla

Flexibility and Massage
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What happens when we don't exercise, we don't move around very much in our daily lives, we get stuck at a desk for multiple hours a day for work, we drive long distances, or we simply just don't move very much at all? Have you ever gotten up from sitting for a bit, and felt stiff, or like you just need to walk around for a minute so everything starts 'moving right'? I certainly have!!  

When we move around regularly, exercise and stretch, we can do a few things for our bodies:
  • One, we create blood flow to our muscles-always a good thing as they need blood flow to work for us!
  • Two, we give our body a stimulus of 'work' so it has to do what we are telling it to do.
  • Three, especially when we stretch, we are affecting our flexibility.


Essentially, the more regularly we move and stretch, the better our flexibility can be. Now, when you add in massage therapy, you get another layer of help with flexibility. Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. How does this help flexibility? Glad you asked! When we get a massage, we are affecting the muscles and how they work. When we apply massage, it helps us bring new blood flow into the muscles and flush out old waste that may have settled there. As I mentioned before, when we bring in blood flow, it helps us move better. With massage, we can help the muscles work better by bringing in the new blood flow and essentially, helping the muscles get longer. When the muscles are longer and able to work better, our flexibility can be better. I typically have tight quad muscles, and so when I get massages, though it can be a little painful, I like to have my quads worked on, so that my knees don't feel as tight and so that my hips can be a little more loose as well. My calves are also usually tight, so that is another area that I like to have worked on, and I feel like my feet move better, and my ankles are more mobile when I get my calves worked on during a massage. For me, I feel like my flexibility all over my body can be affected by massage, in a good way. Do you ever roll your head and neck around in circles and shake it side to side if it is feeling tight? This is a small example of self massage, and it can help! Do you notice that your neck feels better after you do this? It's likely that you have just increased your flexibility. Easy, right?! 

While we aren't able to get massages right now, there are plenty of self massage things you can do at home to help with your flexibility during this time. This link will give you some great ideas and if a foam roller isn't available to you, use the tennis ball in that space. 

11 Seriously Wonderful Self-Massage Tips That Will Make You Feel Amazing

-Cheryl


Groove with Mr. Smoov

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Giving some attention to your walking posture can ensure that you are staying energized and pliable as a result of your walk!  
We are going to call this character Mr. Smoov. Oh, he’s high-tech alright. Mr. Smoov is not based on an actual person, he’s a lovely perfectly-aligned walking gait...simulation. It allows us to see the integration of the skeletal system as it moves under your muscle and skin, and I hope it helps to visualize some key things that you want to consider with all that walking you are able to do. Head to heel, here’s a short checklist of checkins to help you walk strong, agile and smoov for THE AGES!

​● Mr. Smoov is looking out to the horizon

● Mr. Smoov keeps his spine tall
● Mr. Smoov allows both his arms to swing freely at his sides
● Mr. Smoov’s pelvis is gently rotating back and forth
● Mr. Smoov uses a nice, full, heel-to-toe stride

When your bones and your muscles and your joints are hosting good biomechanics on your walk, then this whole body exercise should not fatigue your neck or back, wear into your hips/knees/feet, or drain your muscles of energy(or tighten them down, a lot).

Mr. Smoov is looking out to the horizon
Looking out to the horizon is one of the fastest ways I can think of to gently lengthen your
gait(which is often needed to smoov the gait) and gift you better balance. Stand tall, and keep your ears over your shoulders, looking about 20 feet in front of you.

Mr. Smoov keeps his spine tall
Elongate your spine and pull your waist in to support the lift of that tall posture. No one said anything about slouching...because that would never be necessary, nope.

Mr. Smoov allows both his arms to swing freely at his sides
Shoulders and arms play a key role in good smooth walking. You want your shoulders to be
loose and relaxed to assist with a clean swing of the arm, and to keep tension patterns around the neck and upper back out of your groove. A simple hard shrug of the shoulders, combined with a full inhale, and then a big forceful drop of the shoulders can be a nice reset for the sneaky shrug. Dropping down, notice as the arms swing freely at your sides- not cross body, and notice if you swing one arm at a much greater range than the other. The arms swinging side to side, help to keep us balanced and keep force generated from the twist of walking, from jamming into our spine.

Mr. Smoov’s pelvis is gently rotating back and forth
MIDSECTIONS! That gentle rotation gets more intense with a faster gait. Here again, pull the midsections in snug (40% of your power?? perhaps), to support(relieve) the low back and
maintain robust stability.

Mr. Smoov uses a nice, full, heel-to-toe stride
Smoov strikes the ground with his heel, and rolls through his foot to finish his step pushing out of the toe (USA 10, China 10, Russia 10, Korea 10, Jamaica 10--I believe that’s a sweep Mr. Smoov 10). Taking full steps and not short-stride-posting, or shuffles ensure that each stride keeps the joints lubricated, the fascia hydrated and the muscles working.

Look up, don’t slouch and stride. Walking circulates the blood, fills the lungs, clears the mind juices, the fascia and the joints, resets, revives!!! Walking is an essential human movement, so let’s make it hum, generate robust flow, and make it groove!

Be well, stay smoov~
Tami

Please feel free to email me your gait questions or any concerns you may have about your
walking gait, at twise@equivita.com.
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Flexibility, a very different focus~

4/29/2020

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This month is Flexibility, and what a perfect thing to focus on while you are at home unable to get in your usual workout.  

Along those lines, I know that many of you have been meeting regularly with Carla and Tami to participate in the live online classes, and even more have taken advantage of their recorded exercise sessions. I want to give a big thanks to both Carla and Tami for using their time to keep us connected and exercising!

When it comes to flexibility, there are many types of stretching and flexibility training programs, and while certainly not all of them are right for everyone, the great thing about them is that, with control and attention, you have a much less risk of injury than you might with some resistance or cardio exercise.

It's interesting to take a moment and see how this might be generalized to current times. So many of us habitually conduct our lives in a way that we push and push, going fast and rarely taking time to rest. That is where the Rest Key becomes important to center on for many of us during our "normal lifestyle". But, flexibility -- with the concentration on maintaining or even increasing our range -- is a very different focus. While there is overlap with all of the Keys, the idea that, instead of just wasting your time waiting until life gets back to normal, you would take this phase when you cannot keep that same fast-paced lifestyle and devote your attention in the direction that you want. 

Whether it is physically adapting your body to increase range of motion, or mentally focusing on what you really want, this isolation period is a perfect time for crafting and creating. We all know that it won't last and life will get back to some new normal. Have you considered, when that happens, what you want it to be like? 

I am sure that there are things you miss and want to get back as soon as possible. But are there other things that you aren't excited to return? Maybe through this pandemic we can learn that there are many choices. Perhaps taking a forced step-back is just the right time to imagine the opportunities, and to change those things that we otherwise resigned ourselves to accepting. 

If, upon reflection, you have nothing that you wish was different, then just like with flexibility focus on maintaining. But, if you do have desires to increase your reach, now seems like the perfect time to devote some thought towards how you can make that happen. 

And, as always, let me know how I can help.

-Adam
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It is easy to undervalue flexibility and the role it can have in our fitness...

4/29/2020

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Of the 5 Keys of Fitness, this one seems the simplest to many people. Perhaps because, at its essence it really is as simple as the amount of range that a specific body part moves. Or, perhaps it is because it is the area where you can most quickly see results. Or, maybe because simple stretching doesn’t seem like work and, thus, isn’t given the same value as resistance or cardio training. Regardless of the reasons, it is easy to undervalue flexibility and the role it can have in our fitness, performance and overall health. 

For flexibility training, you must first consider your goal. Unlike the other Keys, your goal for flexibility is simply in one of two categories: to increase your flexibility or to maintain it.

Next, things start to get complicated by determining where in your body you want to focus each of those goals. There may be areas where you don’t need to increase your flexibility and others where you do. 

For areas where you want to maintain the flexibility, you don’t actually need to do anything more than move that area through its full range of motion on a regular basis. In fact, using full range on many resistance training exercises can often be enough to maintain the flexibility for those muscles. 

Increasing flexibility, obviously, will take a little more of a concerted effort. And while there are many different methods, one of the best and safest is static passive stretching performed after the muscles have been working and are warmed with activity and blood flow.

Static means that the stretch is held and not moving like other types of stretching. Passive means that someone or something is performing the stretch, allowing the muscles and the individual that is being stretched to relax. 

To get the benefit from static passive stretching: First, get moving using those muscles. Second, relax and allow the body part to be moved into a position where you can feel a stretch. Third, stay at this position until you feel the stretch sensation ease. Then to increase flexibility you can move into a position of greater stretch. Gentle and slow you can progressively increase your flexibility using this method. 

As always, let me know how I can help.

-Adam
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A MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY: A consideration of Covid-19, of the mind and of the body.

3/19/2020

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This month’s topic is Nutrition, and while there is much to be said about nutrition and how our staff view this important topic, it seems important to also address the pandemic that is currently affecting the world. 

In no way do I mean to lessen the significance of the Covid-19 impact, but at the same time I do encourage you to consider the impact to your health if you allow your brain to shift into perseverating on the illness. 

There are many things that you can, and should, do to reduce your risk, but also you could ask if getting minute-by-minute status updates on the number of verified cases in another country is one of these things. Or, if finding out that a celebrity in another country has tested positive is going to increase the likelihood that you will too. 

You know that our brains are very powerful, and yet, they are also designed to be more attracted to the negative. This bias makes sense in a world where knowing the part of the river where a hippopotamus has staked claim can allow you to avoid it and stay safe. But in a world where the constant news feed from all over the world is biased toward the negative not for your safety as much as for your consumption, then you have to take a more concerted effort to determine what is right for you in order to best protect yourself. 
This protection for some could be taking an increased amount of time away from the pervasive news. For others, it could mean looking at the same statistics and seeing a 97% survival rate. And for others the focus on finding opportunities to create calm is how they best weather the very stressful situations.

If we have learned anything over the recent years, as the volume of negative news continues to snowball, we would all benefit from filtering the information that we allow in and striving to become better at processing how it impacts our mind and body. It takes effort. The fear is strong and the brain’s goal of protection can be bolstered by seemingly logical points that makes it seem all the more necessary to be afraid and pay attention to the negative. Take a moment and thank your brain for this focus on protection. Then, maybe find space to relax and allow yourself to create some calm. Your immune system needs it. 

As always, let me know how I can help.

-Adam Milligan
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Nourishment Key: Ideas and considerations from the EQUIVITA staff, March 2020

3/16/2020

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One Size Does Not Fit All, Adam Milligan

Hey, have you heard that the only exercise that you need to do to lose weight is to push away from the dinner table? This is exactly the type of thing that I think when I hear someone say that we know what the ideal diet is for every human. And it is always something like: 
every human should eat like humans ate up until about 10,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic era; every human should eat like the humans who lived after 10,000 years ago and had started growing food; every human should eat low fat foods; every human should follow the Mediterranean diet model; every human should be a vegetarian. This list could continue and does continue as more and more “experts” jump on board with promoting some new ideal way for all humans to eat. When you step back though, you can tell that it just doesn’t make sense. 

It doesn’t make sense because their premise is based on the belief that all humans are the same. As well as the assumption that science has proven the exact nutrition the human body needs, and the ability for each human to pull the same nutrition from a given source. All of which is not even mentioning that particular human’s microbiome and its ability to generate nutrition for the human from otherwise indigestible materials. (If humans cannot digest something, like fiber, then the food item listing doesn’t have to include those Calories. Even if, once inside the gut the bacteria are able to digest the fiber and produce fats which the human does absorb, those are effective Calories to the human body that would not show up if you were tracking your diet.)

For every “proven” diet there are many more that directly conflict with it, and that is just from the actual science. When you consider all of the fabricated research created to manipulate data and the statistics, even that which is printed in peer reviewed journals, it is easy to understand why our Western diet is such a mess. 

We are encouraged to decrease our sugar consumption by using artificial sweetners, when the research clearly says that these sweeetners are often more harmful. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota

So, do we take this one piece of information, condemn the food industry, and ban all artificial sweetners? Tempting as it might be, it doesn’t consider the facts that we are all different and how our body responds to one item, like artificial sweetner, isn’t the same. 

There are too many variables. As much as we would like to believe that by breaking a diet into food and then into the components of food -- macronutrients (Carbs, Fat, Proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) and even if we go as deep as the secondary compounds of the food -- that we would be able to truly know the food. Its value to the human body is greater than the sum of the parts. All of those pieces interact with each other, with our microbiome and with our body.

We all know that food is more than fuel. It is more than the breakdown of components. Well, it at least has the power to be more. Whether we chose to allow it to be a source of great pleasure, nourishment and life (as do some cultures, like the French, who according to the New York Times, don't care about the ingredients of the food label as much as about who made the food and where it is from), or a source of stress through focusing on the breakdown of numbers of grams and Calories, is a choice each of us has to make.

Whatever choice you make, own it as right for you, and please consider allowing others to do the same.

And, as always, let me know how I can help.

-Adam Milligan

Eat Well, Be Well,  Katherine Baxter

Like other body systems, the immune system is trainable. This means that you can build it up and help maintain it, just like the musculoskeletal system; which is great news, especially during cold and flu season! The place where the majority of our immune health comes from is our gut, so in order to train the immune system, you have to start with what you put into your gut. Because foods directly affect the composition of the gut microbiota, your diet directly affects the homeostasis of the immune system. The common phrase “you are what you eat” is true to its word. If you don’t feed your gut the things it needs to sustain a healthy immunity, then you’ll be more susceptible to illnesses and infections. Think of your gut health as the “gatekeeper” to the rest of the immune system, making it the first line of defense. Thus, undernutrition and immunodeficiency often go hand-in-hand, making nutrition and diet the best form of “preventive medicine”.

New sciences are emerging, and what they’re finding is that "epigenetic marks are reversible, allowing reprogramming after birth” and “nutrition and dietary factors can alter the expression of genes involved in immune responses”. That’s right, our immune system is programmable — and this is accomplished through our diet! This means things from birth (and thereafter) such as asthma, allergies and inflammatory diseases may be reversible through proper nutrition and diet.
What you’re eating is just as important as where what you’re eating comes from — not all foods are created equal. In the era of mass production/agriculture, there are a lot of foods that are low in their nutritional value due to nutrient-stripped farm lands. The more you can eat foods grown in small batches from local growers (such as foods from farmer’s markets), the better. Plus, you’re helping support the community! Often through obtaining the right amount of nutrients through our food, we can begin to not need to rely so heavily on supplements and vitamins.
When we think about diet, we often just think about the foods we eat. However, diet is also any regular occupation or series of activities in which one participates. So your diet is what you eat, what habits you keep, what television programs you watch, what environments you immerse yourself in, what music you listen to, the people you surround yourself with, and lots more. Anything that you are “taking in” is part of your diet — physically, mentally and emotionally. Our diet makes up a large part of who we are, from the inside out.

Nourishment and the Senses, Carla Fox

A lot of the time in our culture, the fullness of our nutrition is broken down into its parts, and what we can “get” out of it on a quantitative level. We also tend to consider nutrition more so than nourishment. By which I mean, we mostly pay attention to food consumption, avoidance and calculated nutrients without considering our experience of food and what we ingest with our other senses. 

Nutrition can be interesting and useful, and ultimately isn’t comprehensive when we consider the larger picture of nourishment. That which contributes to our growth, health and good condition. That requires a more qualitative assessment, and hopefully leads us to a more empowered, less fearful relationship with our digestion through all the senses. 

Anything we perceive/ingest has to be, in varying combinations, assimilated, stored and/or eliminated. The scary movie you watched, digest. The argument with your kid, digest. The beautiful opera, digest. The workout and massage, digest. The homemade meal, digest. How you feel about any of these experiences matters. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all chart for what to do and not do, eat and not eat. Super inconvenient for mainstream industries of dieting, fitness and even nutritional guidelines. 

While it requires commitment to curiosity, slowing down to perceive and perhaps a few missteps along the way, our personal journey in nourishment can be interesting and rewarding.

Charis shares a piece on the six tastes of Ayurveda in this newsletter that may generate some curiosity around getting to know flavors as an experience, a good jumping off point!

Happy exploring! Let me know what questions you have!
​

-Carla Fox

The 6 Tastebuds Introduction: A Guide Map to
Optimal Nutrition, Charis Nawrocki

According to Ayurveda, the ‘sense of taste’ is a natural guide map towards proper nutrition. Much of the wisdom of Ayurveda nutrition rests on the tip of your tongue, literally! 

The 6 Tastes of Food: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Pungent, Astringent. 

The brain sends the body signals when it requires energy in the form of food. When only some of the 6 Tastes are regularly consumed, those specific taste buds can become over-stimulated. Incorporating all 6 tastes into each meal/snack can ensure that these signals are adequately met, thus avoiding food cravings or the overconsumption of certain foods. For example, if the taste bud receptors most commonly stimulated are sweet, salty, sour, then these specific receptors become over-stimulated and the urge or craving for more of these ‘tastes’ grows more habitual. Make sense? 

Here are the 6 sensory receptors in the tongue and their correlating physical properties: 

SWEET (milk, meats, grains, fruits, natural sugars) 
-builds tissues, calms nerves 

SOUR (sour fruits, yogurt, and fermented foods) 
-cleanses tissues, increases absorption of minerals 

SALTY (natural salts, sea vegetables) 
-improves taste of foods, lubricates tissues, stimulates digestion 

BITTER (dark leafy/most cruciferous greens, coffee, herbs and spices) 
-detoxifies and lightens tissues 

PUNGENT (chili pepper, cayenne, garlic, ginger, horseradish, ‘heat’ herbs/spices) 
-stimulates digestion and metabolism 

ASTRINGENT (legumes, raw fruits and vegetables, raw herbs) 
-absorbs water, tightens tissues, dries fats 

If this resonates with you then start incorporating all 6 Tastes today! Practice consistency with it for at least 30 days – though many find results unfold and certain food cravings diminish within as little as 7 days! Take it easy with it, have fun with your meals and snacks, and enjoy the feelings and improved healthful experiences you create for yourself with this ‘mindful eating’ practice! Peace- 

-Charis Nawrocki
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“If this were a pill, it would be the most prescribed pill ever.”

2/19/2020

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The majority of the research in exercise is related to the impact cardiorespiratory exercise can have on one’s health. And these health benefits are so amazing that people will often say things like “If this were a pill, it would be the most prescribed pill ever.” And you would be hard-pressed to find any health care practitioner who disagrees with the fact that the exercise that fits the common understanding of “cardio” is good for the body. 

But one of those much newer areas of research has less to do with the great benefits to the body that come from cardio, and are specifically related to the brain benefits. Humans, like other animals, have an increased production of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) from aerobic exercise. While it is not yet clear whether this increase stimulates the creation of new neurons in the brain (as it does in other animals) or whether it is just that the existing neurons have an increase in connections, it is clear that there are functional improvements in cognitive processing and memory; as well as, size increases in areas like the hypothalamus.

Building from this science is an area of exercise science research that is demonstrating that the maximal BDNF increase is realized when cognitive challenges are undertaken during moderate aerobic exercise. While it is too soon to be specific about what types of brain work during exercise will yield the greatest benefit, it is fair to say that zoning out to a TV while you walk on a treadmill is not giving you the most benefit to your brain. 

It turns out that the goal of the body to find the easiest way and to conserve calories is not just related to the body and biomechanics. It also applies to the brain. Whether building new neurons, increasing connections or simply increasing usage it all requires energy. And, just like with the muscles of the body, for your body to devote more energy it has to be an adaptation that is justified. If you don’t use it, you will lose it because the body’s goal is conserving calories. 

I suspect that in the near future we will see a lot of video games and/or games built into cardio machines that are specifically designed to stimulate the brain while exercising; but in the mean time you can certainly think about the cardio you do and whether you are following parameters to achieve the maximal benefits you could, for your brain and your body. After all, if you are going to devote the time and effort, wouldn’t you want the most gain?

As always, let me know how I can help.


-Adam Milligan
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How we 'dose' aerobic exercise in the body we take care of.

2/17/2020

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Cardio for me is preventative maintenance/medicine and a supportive activity for other stuff I want to do. It hasn’t ever been the “main attraction” for me. Figuring out my “why” around it has historically helped me create the space and care for it. It offers me a feeling of empowerment, a place to work through frustration and sometimes absolute pleasure. 

For the last 8 months or so, my cardio has been a 5 day a week experience. 20 minutes on the elliptical or spinning bike with a couple bouts of intensity on the versa climber added in there.

-Carla Fox
   
​
I struggle with consistency in my cardio. It seems like I can keep up my goal of running 3-5 days a week for a 30 minute minimum for several months, particularly when I have a longer event for which I’m training, and then…..getting a bit more rest seems so appealing. I didn’t start running until my mid 40s and have always used a run/walk combination. Now after over 20 years of running various distances from a mile to a marathon, my current goal distance is between 2 - 6 miles. The intervals allow me to regulate the intensity as well as my attitude. I currently monitor my heart rate, pace, distance and intervals through a Garmin Forerunner watch.  

After a non-running vacation and time off due to sickness, I am in the struggle phase – but thanks to my running friends who are willing to adjust their pace, I ran both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and I’ll be up and at it again Monday morning.  That’s the thing with cardio – lack of consistency can make it feel like you are starting all over. I have to admit I know that feeling too well! 

I enjoy running outdoors more than doing cardio indoors. When I use the EQUIVITA treadmill or cross trainer, I spend a lot of time in my head making bargains and trying to convince myself that I can push for just 1 more minute. Although I run on my own, I really look forward to getting together with my running friends. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don’t. It just matters that we get together and move. 

-Mary Binion


For me, cardio is not my favorite piece of a workout and I'm not good at it! That being said, last spring I went out and got a new bike to ride and I'm loving it!! It definitely gets my heart rate up and I can go for an easy ride, or push myself and go for a hard ride for a good sweat session! This time of year is hard and I struggle with cardio, simply because the bike has been good to me and my knees and this weather makes it tough to get outside and ride. Getting the bike has been helpful to my thought process on cardio in that it certainly makes it a bit easier on my body AND I actually WANT to go out and ride!!! Bring on the spring sunshine and warmer temps!!!
-Cheryl Harris


While I realize the value of cardio (aerobic exercise) is measured by heart rate training, and that there are a host of trackers available for this purpose, I select and ‘dose’ aerobic exercise for how it makes me feel. I like to feel my body power. I like to feel connected, electric and vital. ALSO, I like to push a sense of my control over some of my body systems.

My Power Trip: That is the choice to do a high-intensity interval session (often a half hour) on a spin bike. I also enjoy the sweat from an interval run, often using the treadmill. While both are intense, they work my body/mind differently. When I know I need to finish my cardio with a sharp mind, I use Brian K. Mitchell’s Stayin’ Fit Spin Class on YouTube. Good music and solid instruction, makes me feel like I’m dancing on that spin cycle, meanwhile I sweat and my quads burn! At the end of this, I swear I feel as smart as I am possibly going to be. For example I like to time a spin cycling session before a more demanding brain work session, like an afternoon of writing or strategic planning.  

If you want to get a bit more technical, to experience burn in the muscle of the quads, one has to accumulate lactate in the blood which happens in the muscles at a higher level of exercise intensity/energy demand. Your body has to clear the lactate from the blood and working muscles and process it back to usable fuels. Lactate threshold is the point at which production outstrips the clearing process and higher levels of blood lactate start to accumulate in the muscles.

Interestingly, around 2006 you start to see a shift in the view that lactate in the muscle was simply a limiting element to an athlete, but rather the newer understandings suggest that lactate is a valuable energy substrate for various physiological systems, such as the brain, heart and skeletal muscle. Lactate generation has been identified as advantageous within these systems not only during exercise, but also at rest!!! I thought the smarts thing was simply the byproduct of feeling like a cycle-warrior.  

In the end, I think it’s nice how the investment in a spin class—a dose of cardio that makes me feel tough and happy, can often take down the amount of time it takes me to accomplish a heady work project, and finally delivers me a more complete sense of rest. Earned rest, the very best~

-Tami Wise


Cardio is one of my favorite forms of exercise. I can remember going for hikes with family and friends from a young age. Then, too, for a few years there was the Sunday bike ride that my dad would get us out on. Later came swimming on a team, which I enjoyed almost as much as the friendships I found in it. Today, not only do I enjoy doing laps at the pool but also biking and running, which has made triathlons gain their appeal. The cherry on top of it all is Capoeira—a Brazilian art form that combines movement (cardio, strength and balance), percussion instruments and chanting. Getting those vocal chords to chime in can be a bit of diaphragm workout too, can’t it?
-Nelson Carson
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Massage for Optimal Gains from your Resistance Training

1/29/2020

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You already know that massage can ease the tightness and soreness that can come from resistance training, making you feel a greater sense of recovery between bouts of exercise. And you also know that it can improve the blood flow that is necessary for optimal tissue healing and recovery from resistance training. But did you know that one of the best ways that massage maximizes your benefits of resistance training is by decreasing your body’s ability to cheat during the exercise?


To understand how, we must first start with the fact that it takes fewer calories to hold a contraction than to release it. I realize this can be counterintuitive because of our experience using muscles while working out, but the usage of a whole muscle is different than what is happening in the different parts of the muscle. In a muscle fiber, the contracted state is held static until energy is used to break the bonds. This means that it is more efficient, which for our definition means requires fewer calories. So, if the body can hold a part of a muscle in this contracted state and then leverage it, using the muscle more like connective tissue, to perform the movement then there is greater efficiency.  


This is why proper form is essential to gain the greatest benefit from your exercise and also how massage can help to ensure that you are using the most amount of the right muscles. Knots and ropeyness are restrictions in muscles that hinder your ability to use the whole muscle, since part of it is already in the contracted state. Consistent therapeutic massage can identify and address these restrictions before they have a negative impact. 


The frequency you should have this type of massage depends on how quickly your body develops these muscular contractions. A good guideline for a healthy body is to receive massage every 4-6 weeks. This interval typically provides the therapist with the ability to detect the restrictions and to release them before they develop into requiring more aggressive types of massage. 


This is the reason we designed our Massage Rewards Membership to include a monthly 60 minute massage.
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