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August 28, 2011
The Great Outdoors!
A few years back, I recall, I was listening to a public radio program and heard them say that most Americans spend no more than 10 minutes outside on any given day. I thought that I heard wrong but I thought about it through the day.
It was during Southern Oregon's rainy season. I rode my bike to work that day which took about 20 minutes. I worked all morning, had lunch at my office, worked through the afternoon and into the early evening. It was dark when I left to ride my bike home, another 20 minutes. I didn't go outside again once I stepped in from work. It was wet and cold. Nothing really pulled me to go outside. So, I spent 40 minutes outside that typical day. If I had driven to work that day I would have been outside the cumulative time that it took me to walk back and forth to my car; probably less than 2 minutes total. I could see that I probably did hear that report correctly. Oiy vey!
I think about that now in the heat of the summer as I get heatstroke and sunburned working outside in the yard. And I'm grateful to be breathing real air instead of the recycled air-conditioned kind.
May 15, 2011
My wife, Jenny, and I are up north outside of Corvallis, Oregon. We came up for her first ultra marathon, a 50k (31 mile) race through the lush, green McDonald-Douglas Forest. If we lived anywhere else in the world I may think that was really crazy. After all, Philippides, the ancient Greek runner died after running from Marathon to Athens; 26 miles that became the original marathon (more on that later). The word on the street in Ashland is that there are more ultrarunners per capita than anywhere else on the planet. I believe it. When folks in Ashland talk of running 26 miles, people ask what they are training for.
The race was yesterday. Some friends and I rode our bikes through the forest intercepting the runners throughout the day to cheer Jenny and the others on. I was amazed at the diversity of ages and body types! Distance running is truly a unique sport; the lithe, feather-light, young man or woman in high tech running gear that you may think you would encounter was really a minority here yesterday in the woods. Instead, think of 50 year old birdwatchers with pocketed vests and cargo shorts and you get a better picture of the crowd. And it turns out they weren't there to watch birds. It was very inspiring.
When Alex, Patrick and I met up with Jenny the first time at mile 17 she was running with a couple who were probably in their mid 60's. Jenny is a strong runner, not fast, but steady and solid, as you may guess if you know her. This couple running with her was offering her encouragement (not to mention using her as a pacing metronome), impressed with how she was doing on her first "big" run.
Jenny's goal was to run the race without destroying her body. She kept an even pace and finished with a smile on her face.
The next morning we got up and went for a mountain bike ride to the top of Dimple Hill, the highest point of the run the day before. That was a good sign that she had accomplished her goal.
So why did Philippides die after running his marathon? Turns out that he had a really hard week. Before the famous run he was sent by the Athenian army to seek help from the Spartans against a large invading Persian army. He ran from Marathon, where they had encountered the Persians, to Sparta, 140 miles away. He got their answer, which was "not now," and ran back 140 miles. Then he put on his battle gear and fought an entire day where the Athenians were able to beat the snot out of the Persians. But the Persians went back to their boats and headed to Athens to sack the city while the army was out in the country. Philippides was sent to run quickly to Athens to warn them, a mere 26 miles that did him in; but he too had accomplished his goal... He delivered his messages as quick as was humanly possible.
May 8, 2011
The Miracle of our Body
Three massages in one week! I have full range of motion again in my neck. Thank you to Holly and Stuart and for me trying to walk a little bit of the walk that I talk. I made an effort to drink more water than usual this week. Water and sleep are the great healers. I tried to get a little extra of each of those.
About 3 days after my injury the pain had gone down some but my range of motion just hadn't come back at all. I suddenly realized that I was not doing what I would have done with a client in my same position. Some subtly resisted stretches have a remarkable way of increasing range of motion and decreasing pain by "reprogramming" our neuromuscular system. These are often called PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular fascilitation) stretches or METs (muscle energy techniques). About 30 seconds each side gave me most of my movement back. Doing that once or twice a day was enough to get me out of the woods.
Bouts like this serve to remind me that although we humans are incredibly resilient creatures, we are extremely fragile at the same time. I have had some crazy bike crashes and nearly all of them I have barely needed to stop sliding/bouncing/rolling before getting back on the bike. But painting for a few hours just about did me in. Bouts like these also help remind me of the incredible good that can be done by bodyworkers. There is so much wisdom in our bodies. When we can share that through touch, miracles can happen.
May 2, 2011
Stiff Neck
I spent many hours painting this past weekend. That work requires a lot of muscle contraction but with little movement, such as: holding the can of paint, standing in funny positions, holding my arm out, craning my neck out to see better and balancing on the ladder. These are examples of the muscles isometrically contracting; contracting but not changing length.
We all get used to our particular jobs, hobbies and choices of exercises. I am not used to painting. Force me to give massages for 10 hours in a row and I'll come out of it alright, but after ten hours of painting on Saturday I was a little concerned about how I would feel on Sunday. Turns out I would have been better off not worrying about it.
I went to soak in the hot springs and sit in the sauna that night. While I was in there I figured I would stretch my arms and neck in ways that they don't normally get stretched. Something about the combination of unusual work to my muscles followed by the heat making everything very supple and limber, then over-stretching, led to one of the most painful stiff necks that I have ever experienced.
It's good as a bodyworker and as a teacher to experience the pain that brings a lot of our clients in to the clinic; so I don't mind too much. I know it's going to go away. I'm giving it a week. I was lucky to find a chiropractor to see me Sunday morning. David Heller does great work, it was nice to know my ribs and cervical vertebrae were where they want to be. I received an excellent massage a few hours later from Holly Hutchison at Siskiyou Massage to help loosen the muscles and fascia so that the bones can move properly, and I'm well on the way to healing.
Siskiyou Massage specializes in injury treatment, pain management, prenatal and postnatal massage therapy, sports massage therapy, neuromuscular therapy, myofascial release, swedish/relaxation massage therapy, deep tissue massage therapy and stress management. We serve Ashland, Medford, Talent and Phoenix OR. Gift certificates are available on-line or in our office.
A few years back, I recall, I was listening to a public radio program and heard them say that most Americans spend no more than 10 minutes outside on any given day. I thought that I heard wrong but I thought about it through the day.
My wife, Jenny, and I are up north outside of Corvallis, Oregon. We came up for her first ultra marathon, a 50k (31 mile) race through the lush, green McDonald-Douglas Forest. If we lived anywhere else in the world I may think that was really crazy. After all, Philippides, the ancient Greek runner died after running from Marathon to Athens; 26 miles that became the original marathon (more on that later). The word on the street in Ashland is that there are more ultrarunners per capita than anywhere else on the planet. I believe it. When folks in Ashland talk of running 26 miles, people ask what they are training for.
When Alex, Patrick and I met up with Jenny the first time at mile 17 she was running with a couple who were probably in their mid 60's. Jenny is a strong runner, not fast, but steady and solid, as you may guess if you know her. This couple running with her was offering her encouragement (not to mention using her as a pacing metronome), impressed with how she was doing on her first "big" run.
The next morning we got up and went for a mountain bike ride to the top of Dimple Hill, the highest point of the run the day before. That was a good sign that she had accomplished her goal.
So why did Philippides die after running his marathon? Turns out that he had a really hard week. Before the famous run he was sent by the Athenian army to seek help from the Spartans against a large invading Persian army. He ran from Marathon, where they had encountered the Persians, to Sparta, 140 miles away. He got their answer, which was "not now," and ran back 140 miles. Then he put on his battle gear and fought an entire day where the Athenians were able to beat the snot out of the Persians. But the Persians went back to their boats and headed to Athens to sack the city while the army was out in the country. Philippides was sent to run quickly to Athens to warn them, a mere 26 miles that did him in; but he too had accomplished his goal... He delivered his messages as quick as was humanly possible.
About 3 days after my injury the pain had gone down some but my range of motion just hadn't come back at all. I suddenly realized that I was not doing what I would have done with a client in my same position. Some subtly resisted stretches have a remarkable way of increasing range of motion and decreasing pain by "reprogramming" our neuromuscular system. These are often called PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular fascilitation) stretches or METs (muscle energy techniques). About 30 seconds each side gave me most of my movement back. Doing that once or twice a day was enough to get me out of the woods.
I spent many hours painting this past weekend. That work requires a lot of muscle contraction but with little movement, such as: holding the can of paint, standing in funny positions, holding my arm out, craning my neck out to see better and balancing on the ladder. These are examples of the muscles isometrically contracting; contracting but not changing length.