Myths around stretching

Below is an email and my reply just sent to the patient.
My passion is movement and my aim is to inspire informed and enthusiastic converts to DMP (Daily Movement Practice). The premise of DMP is moving with intention; awareness and total understanding of what is being done and why.

In the email just received an replied to, are typical questions regarding movements I set as "homework" namely stretching. Understanding the nuances of movement, the intricacies of your body and the adaptability of the human form, much can be achieved and changed under your own volition and diligent practice.

Below are the emails....


On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 9:43 PM,****************** wrote:
Hi Donna,

Thank you for sending those, it really helped! Just got home from work and did them... I'm sweating! :)
Just a couple of questions, how long should I be aiming to hold the stretches for? Also, is there a reason I'm doing just the left leg for one stretch, and just the right for another?
Sorry, I could have asked this when I saw you.

I woke up with very little pain in my back the day after seeing you! The difference is incredible, thank you soooo much! You're amazing!

See you soon,
Lyndal

Sent from my iPhone

My reply:

Yes the difference in your homework (for now) is to address the difference in your structure (as it stands currently) doing the "lopsided" practice is aimed at squaring you up, when you come in for your follow up next month, we'll be adjusting your practice according to your progress.

Stretches are not held "for time"... they are not held PERIOD!
Read the directions and pay attention to the movement you are aiming for, so with hip stretches it is the sinking of the pelvis. This is not a timed thing nor a set number of breaths, your body will release in its own time, some times its 5 breaths some times its 15 and each side of your body each exercise is going to be different.

This is ALL ABOUT getting you IN to your body and being 100% focused on the movement; sensation and intention of the exercise. That way you are being complete ~ specific and self challenging to create change and lasting results.

Be diligent with your practice EVEN WHEN THINGS ARE "fixed" and feeling good!
Some exercises you will do EVERY DAY from this day forward, others will change as your body changes. Daily Movement Practice is now part of your daily routine.

Enjoy.
will be in touch in approx 2 weeeks.

Cheers
Donna

A true teacher

A true teacher touches your soul ~ lifts your spirit ~ challenges you in ways you never knew you could (let alone need) to be challenged!

A true teacher can reach you beyond their death and stimulate learning ~ love ~ and emotional contemplation, changing your perspective ~ goals ~ attitude ~ and passion.

A true teacher is always with you, because you embody the learning and relive the lessons with every day beyond their teaching.

In memory of a teacher gone too soon. You'll be missed greatly. Geoff Wilson ~ Art of Health, you were my teacher for only a short while but I grew and took in so much in that time. Thank you.

The Seasons turn....

It always amazes and excites me travelling the world. Adventure, the unknown, the world in your hands (or the Golden Gate Bridge, if you position yourself to do so!) As I write, I am still in the Northern Hemisphere (8hrs ahead but a calendar day behind) away from "home".

I left during the hot and humid tail end of Summer, I return to Autumn and the end of Daylight Savings.

My most memobrable travel/ time/ season distortion was arriving home to Sydney and standing on the beach (toes enjoying the water) looking out to sea, feeling the heat from the Sun and marvelling at the fact that only 12hrs prior I was standing in Snow 20 degrees below freezing in Japan!

With fondness I am aware of my fortunate life, being able to explore this world of ours.
The travel bug got me fairly early on in life. At 18 my first international journey was all it took, a safe introduction to the wonders of travel. I was one of 200 high School students on a performing arts tour around the USA.

During this first trip I decided that I would explore the world and made the commitment to myself to travel once EVERY YEAR outside Australia. The initial promise was for the first ten years out of school (1992 was that introductory trip) and I can quite happily say ~ I did it (and then some). Some years i've had more than one trip and more often than not more than one country within each trip.

Since 1992 I have only missed one calendar year 2006 and that was only because a snow trip got bumped from Dec '06 to Feb '07! So how far have I travelled? How many countries have I been to? What was my favourite place? Where was my most memorable moment? Hard to say! I've done it for the experience.... not to keep stats.

I've had the pleasure of travelling alone (USA as a nanny/ summer camp counsellor/ storm chasing. Europe and Canada)~ with Friends (snow trips to NZ & Canada, Bali and Thailand) ~ with fellow students (1992 USA Rock Eisteddfod & 2004 UTS to China) ~ with colleagues (Europe, USA & Canada CST tour) ~ with loved ones (China, USA, Phillipines, Malaysia, Canada and Singapore)

And I am yet to get to India, South America, most of Europe, Africa's, Antarctica & Arctic Circles, Ireland, Iceland and many many more. So as my current travels come to an end ~ 12 hours till I board a friendly and familiar Qantas flight from LA, I reflect on the journey thats been the past 6 weeks...

AND i'm drawn to the excitement of planning the next one!
For now, back to the future, back to the land of Oz ~ home.

The year in review....

There is always time to expand your mind. The pic is of my reading stack for 2010.
Books- journals- magazines- course manuals, all ingested and enjoyed for the year.

The titles are listed below and I recommend them all!
My favourites were the "Flow" books by Milhay Csikzentmilhalyi and "The Brain that changes itself" Norman Dioge.




Magazines

Nett Magazine 4- Feb; March; April; May
Australian Yoga Life 2- Mar/May; Jun/Aug
Fitness Life NZ 5- issue 44; 45; 46; 47; 48
Alive Australia 1- Summer issue 2
Network 2- Winter; Spring
Australian Yoga Journal-2 Apr/May; Aug/Sept

Journals
ATMS 3- Vol 16 issue 1; 2; 3
Sports Injury Bulletin 7- Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; July


Educational Notes
Going Ballistic: Brandon Jones (CST)
How to write Headlines: Mal Emery
No Bull- Speed selling: Mal Emery
The Ultimate Million $ mkting: Mal Emery
Chiball Method Instructor training
CST Head Coach Training
Gua Sha TCM techniques


Books
~Let’s Read Our Feet: Jane Sheenhan
~Full Body Flexibility: Jay Blahnik
~Orthobionomy: Kathy Kain
~The Chakra Bible: Patricia Mercier
~The Book of Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashi
~Success in Your Business: Mic Pilon
~Bodymind: Ken Dychtwald
~Deep Simplicity: John Gribbin
~Finding Flow: Milhay Csikzentmilhalyi
~Flow- the Psychology of
Optimal Experience: Milhay Csikzentmilhalyi
~Creativity: Milhay Csiczentmilhalyi
~The Genius of Flexibility: Bob Cooley
~Rooms for Improvement: Geoff Wilson
~How the Catholic Church
Built Western Civilisation: Thomas. E. Woods
~Dying was the Best Thing
that Happened to me: William Hablitzel
~The brain that Changes
Itself: Norman Dioge

HOW DID I MANAGE TOREAD ALL THESE?

No i'm not a speed reader.
Yes I am a geek! AND I am also a master @ time management...
Neally all this reading was done whilst driving. Well not literally (although those that know me won't believe that)I read all this whilst sitting in traffic/ @ red lights. I started with journals, as they had short articles that are easy to read. Then i picked up my reading pace a little, but more importantly committing to memory what I had read so I didn't need to re-read anything the next time I picked up the book!

So get yourself some 'redlight' reading and nourish that plastic thirsty brain of yours! How much can you read in 2011?

Cheers to the New Year. 11 is a GREAT number.... big things are coming for Posture Plus and "Donna Inc".

Movement is Life

Life should be experienced with vibrance and animated vigor.

You – your body, should be able to do anything at any moment.

The more you are willing to move, the more you will look for new ways to move- the world becomes that playground it once was. Climbing a tree is not just for kids; play equipment becomes a fantastic (and fun) free gym session.

All you truly have- all you “are” is your body. If that does not function with all its dynamic options….. What sort of life are you living?

Sadly we modern day adults are conditioned out of dynamic movement. When was the last time you sat or laid on the floor? When was the last time to skipped (with or without a rope). When was the last time you felt your stomach drop from the exhilaration of successfully completing a challenging physical manouver?

Most of the above activities are done when in the 'rehab' phase of an injury that suddenly 'happened TO US' or activities we watch others do. We are ignorant of the magic of our body's until we desperately want it to heal, so we can 'get on with it' and ignore it once again.

2011 will bring the opportunity to service your physical needs and still 'get on with life'. The secrets and shortcuts of injury prevention and fantastic fitness will be available through Posture Plus and the new site that is coming. Keep your eye on this blog and be ready to take action!

This body is your only body and the only thing that you truly posses! Be mindful of its service to you and aim to do one new/ different movement each month, then each week, then each day.

More to come soon!

Video of training tour

With my life being my work and my work my life... Mastering the Art of Living is a pleasant journey... even if some if it LOOKS like torture from the outside. Inside the journey is bliss. Click the link below to see what I call a days work....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOJi5H_m0Zo

To my colleagues and friends visible in the video and whom were present @ the time of filming (both along side me in the training and being the person (Mike Lasnier) capturing the footage) THANK YOU!

Thank you for being who you are and being part of my journey.
to those interested in what 'they work- my work' is...

www.postureplus.com.au

and

www.cstaus.com.a

If you like what you see, make contact and join us on the journey.
Make daily movement part of your journey and flow through life with a mindful attitude and a playful energy.... that is infectious.

Breath Training and Being Breathed.

Breath Training and Being Breathed.
From limited breath work training (outlined below) the following is new insight to a broad and deep topic.

*this was posted in 2008 and is an extract of the original article.....


Conscious/deliberately practiced breathing has been a significant part of my class program Posture Plus™ since the outset. My initial training in Pilates introduced the conscious practice of timed breathing which allows one to contract core muscles fully, aiding Pilates based exercises.


Following my introduction to breath work with Pilates came Stretch Therapy™ with Kit Laughlin (www.pandf.com.au). The Stretch Therapy™ training developed my breath work appreciation further utilising diaphragmatic breathing to take the body towards a relaxed state whilst also enabling one to manipulate and influence stretch/ exercise results.


As my Pilates teacher said (often) “breathing makes the exercise”. This I believed, but did not (until now) fully comprehend. I have recently been introduced to a new concept with regards breathing and that is 'Be Breathed'™ by Scott Sonnon. (www.cstaus.com.au)


In April of 2008 I was introduced to the concept of letting the body breathe you through out your training. It was not until I started playing with my Clubbbells™ that I actually grasped this concept. To 'be breathed'™ rather than controlling the breath was the opposite to what I had been doing and teaching for seven years!

After initial fear and resistance… I did not have to undo all my training and teaching (phew).


July I started playing with the 'Be Breathed'™ DVD. The movements and philosophy within the 'Be breathed'™ routine run very close to the way 'ab' work is taught within Posture Plus™. The CST 'Be breathed'™ routine has a few extensions (figuratively and literally) but the sequenced use of breath is similar.


The story I wish to share is the insight I gained during my week at my mothers bedside. My mother suffered one of the cruelest diseases known; Motor Neurone Disease (www.mnd.asn).
In the Northern Hemisphere ALS (Lou Gehrig's); SMA or Kennedy's Disease.


I started writing this whilst in my mothers room, listening intently to her breathe. The significance of her breath was due to the nature of her disease. Whilst being present with my mother in her final week we were intently focused on her breath. My mother had made it clear she was ready to depart and wanted the supplimentary oxygen off. Taking off the oxygen we (Drs included) all thought would mean a quick end to her suffering.


To our astonishment mum lasted nearly a full week without the oxygen. Her breath (when fully sedated) was relaxed and rhythmical. As the days passed it was obvious the body was slowly shutting down, but her pulse was strong and her breath remained rhythmical. By the third day (off the oxygen) it suddenly occurred to be that we are breathed!


As Scott states in the 'Be breathed'™ DVD

“be breathed is not something you do, it is something
you are/ become”

This is true in relation to movement (as mentioned at the start of this story) but it is also true for the Spirit. Without conscious beliefs/ fears blocking my mother’s breath, the body was being breathed in a calm relaxed manner.


So how can this be?

Putting aside the power of the mind with its ability to convince oneself of how things 'are'. In my mothers case “my disease has progressed to the point where I need oxygen”. She did 'need' the oxygen, as a pacifier to keep her calm and comfortable. Once she was sedated and the mental fears were eliminated, the body kept breathing… she didn’t NEED the supplementary Oxygen.

How is this so?

After witnessing the continual breath in. The automatic internally driven breath in. I now believe this is how it is! We don't breathe to stay alive, we are breathed.


What we think of as breathing, is our manipulation of the inwardly driven breath in. We manipulate breathing via our responses (both conscious and subconscious), as a result of stress; physical movement and emotional challenges. This responsive or controlled breathing is usually a shallow breath driven by accessory muscles- not the diaphragm. But in an unconscious state (as in sleep) we are breathed; we can breathe completely...unrestricted.

So what can be taken from this?
With the nicest of intents...that is up to you.
For me, it takes the pressure off literally. Breathing will happen as a matter of fact; as I experienced (but did not absorb) in the past few months with my Clubbell™ training. As I witnessed in the past week with my mother, and as I experimented out running this week. You can extend yourself physically if you train trusting that you will be breathed.

As I move in to my first ever Yoga training... I will add to these insights on breath work and breath mastery!