"Let's Talk About Stress Baby..."

When I was in college, Transcendental Meditation was just becoming popular in the United States. The Beatles were in their "mindful" stage and they had sought out the Maharishi to help them de-stress and "find themselves".

My roommate was dating a guy who was training to become a TM teacher and she thought it would be cool if we learned to meditate. We went through the "classes", received our mantras and had a sort of spiritual ceremony to mark our success.

My first attempt at meditating

I did it regularly for a while and then just sort of used it when I was really stressed out. I’d sit in my car or lock myself in the bathroom and try to meditate to calm down. It helped a little, but I used it more as a reactive band-aid to stress rather than a proactive lifestyle change.

Last year, I began reading more about the medical studies on the benefits of daily meditation. Studies about how school children were improving both scholastically and behaviorally from classroom meditation practice began to surface.

These studies found that regular practice — even just a few minutes per day –improved student’s self-control and increased their classroom participation, respect for others, happiness, optimism, and self-acceptance levels. It helped reduce absenteeism and suspensions, too. Another study showed that meditating regularly also helps reduce activity in the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center responsible for fear and stress reactions. It also increases the activity in the prefrontal cortex where we make our decisions, plan ahead, think abstractly.

“Ok. Sounds great,” I thought. I’ve always used exercise as a way to relieve stress and focus, but still, I’m not exactly the calmest person around. Why not try meditating again?

So, I began meditating about 5-8 minutes a once a day and worked my way up to about 20 minutes. I still remembered the mantra given to me when I first learned to meditate. According to how I was taught, the mantra acts as a “vehicle” that allows the mind to settle into increasingly subtle levels of thinking.

At first it was kind of difficult to stay still (Surprise!!), but as I continued each day, I found the time going by very quickly and I felt both relaxed and energized after I was done. I found that I like to meditate early in the day, either when I first wake up or just after I workout and stretch.

I was a little skeptical when I first started, but I’ve been meditating daily for almost two months now, and I really look forward to that time of day. If you asked me to describe how it has affected me, I’d say I’ve noticed subtle changes. It’s not like I’m suddenly calm all of the time, but my overactive “worry gene” seems to have relaxed a little bit. Instead of creating a thousand awful scenarios in my head when I’m worried about something, I’ve started to try and visualize a more positive outcome. (Of course that doesn’t stop me from regularly bugging my adult kids to make sure they’re doing ok).

I’ve also somewhat curbed my incessant people-pleasing and my need to be busy all of the time. (I said “curbed”; NOT “stopped”).

Even though I first learned the process through classes, you don’t NEED to be trained by the Maharishi in TM to meditate. There are many ways to put yourself in that calm state without being “trained” in workshops.

Just breathing in and out slowly and repeating a meaningless soft sound can work. If your mind wanders, it’s ok. And that’s kind of what helps you deal with stress; letting thoughts wander in and out. Just bring your attention back to the breathing and sound repetition when you realize it.

Or, if visualization works better for you, sit quietly and imagine a place of calm and comfort, and focus on your breathing that way. The same holds true when your mind starts to wander. You just bring yourself back to that place and the same breathing pattern.

So, with that in mind, just make some time to start.

Choose a calm place to meditate. There's no wrong place to meditate, But it might be easier when you're first starting out to be somewhere quiet: "Your mind will invent enough distractions on its own, so no need to sit somewhere where there are other things going on," says Danielle Ford, a meditation teacher based in Denver.

Choose a room with enough natural light to keep you alert. As a beginner, you might be prone to sleepiness, but as you get more used to the calming state of mind, dimming the lights and adding soft lighting such as candles can be inviting.

Get comfortable. You can position your body for meditation in any number of ways—sitting, lying down, kneeling—but ultimately, you should feel comfortable the whole way through. Keep an easy body posture and try not to clench your fists or jaw. It’s fine to adjust your body if you need to so you're not too focused on holding any one pose. I could never sit cross-legged with my wrists on my knees like most pictures of people meditating show. My neck always gets tight, so I usually sit in a place where I can put my head back with support.

Be Consistent. Usually, people find meditation most helpful if they do it early in the morning or just before bed. This allows you to set the stage for your day or to unwind from it. You can also try a “midday mindful moment” to decompress or focus on your tasks. Once you've found a time that works best for your life, try to stick with that.  I find that mornings are best for me. My husband laughs because he thinks meditation is like sleeping and why would I wake up early just to sit up and sleep?  But it’s a different state of mind. And seeing changes and results take time, so be patient with yourself.

Don’t try to fight thoughts, let them roll in and out of your mind.

Shunning stressful thoughts is usually a beginner's primary concern. Accept that your mind will wander. You can't stop thinking; you can only redirect your attention. Try to observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them, and you'll have an easier time keeping cool amid daily stresses, too. Many psychologists recommend meditation because it’s a great way to increase you resilience to stress. If you have anxiety, it does help calm your nervous system. It’s most helpful to people who are prone to rumination (unwanted overthinking, Hello? That’s me).

Focus on Your Breath

Focus on a body sensation, like your breath coming in and out of your nose, or your belly rising and falling. When stressful thoughts come up, don't worry. Simply refocus your attention on your body—again and again and again. And if it helps, you can also think of your breath as the central point of your meditation.

Start Small

As little as three to five minutes is enough. Meditating a brief amount of time, at the same time every day creates a habit—which you can then lengthen to 15, 20, or even 30 minutes when you're ready. I’ve slowly increased my time to about 20 minutes once a day and hope to find the time to meditate longer or more often.

And you can meditate in different ways, too. If you can’t sit still for that length of time, try walking outside somewhere without distractions and focusing on the sights, sounds and feeling the sun or wind on your face.

There are many ways to create a meditation practice but the main component is creating a time of day that allows you to relax with without the need to resolve problems or create anything new. It can be part of a yoga practice, or a separate time to let your thought process wander.

If you have 15-20 minutes for Facebook to suck you in, you have time to meditate.

"At the End of My Ropes..."

 

 There’s a commercial out now for Oscar Mayer's P3 Portable Protein Pack that shows different methods people use to get healthy. The last scene shows a guy at the gym  furiously whipping ropes up and down. When his friend asks him,

“What does that work?”

 He says, “I don’t know, but it looks cool!”

Harry rockin' the ropes (He's 72)

   And that’s kind of how most people feel when they see the ropes wound around in the corner of their gym. They look kind of interesting, but intimidating, so many people avoid trying them. But they’re a fantastic, low impact workout that raises your heart rate and burns calories quickly.

   Battle ropes come in all shapes, sizes, and weights, depending on the rope’s thickness and length. The major benefit of training with battle ropes is the application of upper body power, combined with endurance. The rope is wrapped around an anchor point, and you hold it at the very end of the rope's length. The amount of slack in the rope determines the load. Moving away from the anchor point decreases exercise intensity, while stepping toward the anchor point increases it. And there are so many benefits to your body:

      

   -It’s low impact. There’s minimal stress on the joints, with all the force  being applied to the muscular system. Although battle rope workouts can be intense, you can tone them down to any fitness level. Whether you’re just starting out, recovering from an injury, or even if you have bone and joint problems, there’s a battle rope routine that can    benefit you without pain or discomfort. Because the workouts use your body’s natural range of motion, you don’t have the negative restrictive aspects of common weight machines.

      -It’s a calorie torch. You can burn just as many calories as sprinting,  high-intensity interval training, and heavy resistance training.

      -It helps improve athletic performance. Using ropes trains the neuromuscular system to apply force that begins at the core and extends through both the arms and legs. If you watch the movements carefully, you will notice that one side of your body may move differently than the other. With rope training, over time, these differences go away. Slowly, you will notice your right and left sides start to balance out.

   
      -It’s a great core workout. They work the entire core from above your knees to below your chest by both applying power from the core, and stabilizing and bracing back movement.

   -They’re safe to use and fun. Just drop them when you can’t go any more. Using tools like the ropes is a breath of fresh air for most people; it creates excitement, it is unique, and it gets people “playing” again. This is another benefit of rope training unseen in many other forms – the more effort or intensity you put into the rope, the more you get out. There are also different weights of battle ropes so you can start light, and build up as you get stronger by choosing a longer length, a larger diameter, or a combination of both.

   Every time I use the ropes, I feel more comfortable with them, and I’m always amazed at how much using them raises my heart rate. There’s not a huge learning curve to using them, but some things to be aware of are:

Posture- The feet are spaced about shoulder width and toes slightly pointed out. Dip into a squat stance with the weight on your heels and not the toes. Your hips are hinged and the knees are slightly bent so the shin is vertical. Back straight; core tight.

Grip–Many people grip the ropes hard and tense up their bodies, leading to quick exhaustion. Grip the rope lightly, relax your arms, shoulders, torso, and even your face. That way, you’ll be able to move faster and maintain intensity for longer periods of time.

Breathing-People new to rope training tend to hold their breath, which can hurt their performance. Try and match your movement with your breathing pattern; as speed and intensity increase, so should your breathing.

Body Utilization– While most rope exercises seem to be upper body movements, the entire body should be utilized to increase power and efficiency. The legs and hips play a very important role in generating power into and through the arms. Be conscious of your feet, legs, hips, and shoulders. Try to avoid standing too stiffly, and make sure that all areas of your body are active.

   You can just whip the ropes up and down, but some specific battle rope exercises follow:

   -Alternating Waves: Alternate moving your arms up and down. Hold the ends of the rope at arm's length in front of your hips with your hands shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and begin alternately raising and lowering each arm explosively. Keep alternating arms for 1 to 20 minutes.

   -Double Arm Waves: Instead of alternating your arms up and down, move them up and down together.

   -Battle Rope Crossovers: Instead of making waves, slam the rope to the ground. Keep both feet flat on the floor as you move the ends in an arc above your head, lifting them to your left and slamming them down hard to your right. Repeat in the opposite direction.

   -Snake: Swing your arms together side-to-side and make your rope slither like a snake.

  -Claps: Move your arms in and out like you’re clapping your hands together.

   -Outside Circles: Make big circles with your arms. Your right arm circles clockwise and your left arm circles counter-clockwise.

   -Slams: Lift the rope and slam down

   -Figure Eight Circles: Make a figure eight shape in the air while holding the ropes. Feel free to reverse direction in the middle of your round.

   A great way to begin using the ropes is by using both hands to hold one side of the rope until you feel comfortable enough to lift both sides of the rope.

   And the same goes for when the two ropes get too heavy. Drop one side and grab onto one rope with both hands. It still gives you the benefits of training with both sides of the rope.

   I’ve even seen people sit on a bench with their feet planted on the ground while they use their upper body to move the ropes.

 

 So if you’re new to the gym or you’ve been working out for years, using the battle ropes can add intensity and fun without the dangers of some machines. And, it’s a great calorie burn!

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You...

Although I'm usually open to trying many different types of workouts, I kind of avoided taking yoga classes over the years. I mean, I knew there were lots of benefits like improved flexibility, increased strength and even better posture, but since yoga is not typically focused on aerobic fitness, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put in the time. I vividly remember my mother taking yoga over 40 years ago when she wanted to quit smoking. Because of the deep and mindful breathing involved, she was able to give up the cigarettes and her lung capacity improved. She continued the practice and when my kids were little, she even taught them to do different yoga poses as a game when she babysat. It must have worked for her since she’s about to celebrate her 91st birthday.
However, since I’m usually stuck on hyper-drive throughout the day, I never allowed myself to be open to the mind-calming and heart health benefits of the practice.
I tried a “yoga-lates-boxing-fusion” kind of group fitness class a few years back, but I left with a sore back and a stomach ache. So when my daughter convinced me to go to a free yoga class at the lululemon showroom, I was a little skeptical. We arrived early, rolled out our mats and took off our shoes. I was convinced I was the only one there who wouldn’t even be able to bend from the waist and touch the ground or hold a pose or stand steady, and… I kind of was. But it was OK, because our instructor, Danielle (Danielle Tridenti -www.dyogahome.com and lululemon ambassador), amazingly was right there to quietly help me “re-adjust” my moves and modify ones that were too difficult. I felt great afterwards and even a little sore (in a good way).
We returned to lululemon another week and took a yoga class with Emily (Emily Goble, who teaches at Wellbridge and other places around St. Louis). I felt a little more confident this time, but it didn’t take long to see I had quite a way to go. Still, like Danielle, Emily would walk through the room gently moving and assisting us to position ourselves correctly. The hour flew by (unlike some grueling fitness classes I’ve taken) and I actually felt sort of relaxed. No small feat for someone with my type A personality!
Again, I’ve only taken two or three yoga classes, but from what I have gleaned, there are apparently many different styles of yoga being taught and practiced today and generally, all of the styles are based on the same physical postures or poses called asanas.
Hatha is a very general term that can encompass many of the physical types of yoga, and like Hatha, Vinyasa is a general term that is used to describe many different types of classes.
Vinyasa, which means breath-synchronized movement, tends to be a bit more vigorous. It uses a series of poses called sun salutations, in which movement is matched to the breath.
Ashtanga yoga is a fast-paced series of sequential poses beginning with sun salutations where students move from one posture to another in a continual flow and link movements to breath. It is more physically demanding to build strength, flexibility, and stamina. Power yoga is based on Ashtanga.
Bikram Yoga is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room, which allows tight muscles to loosen and causes profuse sweating, thought to be cleansing. The Bikram method, developed by Bikram Choudhury, uses a set series of 26 poses. The heat is supposed to allow you to go deeper and safer into a yoga pose, while lowering the risk of injuries.
Although my gym (Lifetime Fitness) doesn’t offer Bikram Yoga, I did take a Hot Yoga class taught by Karen Fairchild. The class offers the benefits of the hot room, such as safely stretching your muscles, and releasing the lactic acid and other toxins that build up with muscle use, but it isn’t regimented to the specific series of poses in Bikram. Karen, like Emily and Danielle, helped guide us through the poses gently, but the heat really got to me (I'm told you get used to the heat after a few classes). I made it through most of the session, and I loved how Karen advocated lengthening of the muscles versus the contracting I usually do when I lift weights. She likes the balance yoga brings to a workout program and believes it’s a complement to all other types of exercise.
So...., will I continue to take yoga classes? I’m pretty sure I will. It’s a new challenge and I’m hoping it will help my flexibility. Best of all, I actually felt calm after each class (Maybe it was short-lived, but I’d like to extend that!).
As my friend Robyn said when I asked her why she takes yoga:
“I just feel like it’s good for me!”
And isn’t that what we’re all looking to find?
Check your gym’s schedule for yoga class times. Also, Lululemon Athletica has information on local instructors and offers weekly complimentary yoga classes (and they are sooooo great about giving you information). Log onto http://www.lululemon.com/stores/ to see if there is a store near you.

Good Vibrations...

This time of year can be particularly stressful for all of us in one way or another. Transitioning into a new school year wreaks havoc on even the most laid back child or parent. As the summer drifts away, we realize we’ve got a lot ahead in the coming months; be it work, school, holiday gatherings or end of year quotas to meet. With the precarious economy and unknowns in the workplace, we could spend our entire day worrying about what’s to come. Being a professional worrier, it’s particularly hard on me. Over the years I’ve looked for ways to calm the anxiety from meditation to medication, but I’ve found my best results through exercise.
As I was growing up, my mom believed that exercise was the key to life; even back in the 1960s. If something was bothering you, just go for a walk. According to her, it solved everything. Even when my dad became ill she still took him on a long walk daily. He was able to overcome some symptoms for a time, but more than anything, I think the walks help my mother cope with his illness.
It took me a while to follow her example, but I coped with the stress of my first teaching jobs by taking aerobic dance classes, and even went into labor with my first child during a class. The anxiety of being a new mom was lessened as I walked for miles, pushing my children in the stroller, and pumping up my heart rate.
According to The American Council on Exercise, exercise provides an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration, anger and irritability, and promotes a more positive mood and outlook. Our mood is improved by the production of positive biochemical changes in the body and brain. Regular exercise also reduces the amount of adrenal hormones your body releases in response to stress, decreasing the stress hormones such as cortisol and increasing endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally.
Over the years, spending time lifting weights or on a cardio machine at the gym, going on a walk, or taking a fitness class has helped me cope with the stress of moving to a new city, job changes, and trying to be a “supermom” (Sorry, there’s no such creature!!). In a way, working out has been a selfish act. It’s MY time to focus on my reps, my miles, my heart rate, my progress and forget about whatever is gnawing away at my nerves. It’s still there when I’m done, but I’ve had some time to clear my head and it never seems as difficult to deal with after I’ve exercised.
And unlike the weight loss, body shaping and physical health benefits of exercise, it doesn’t take long to reap the emotional benefits. Even 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise can kick up your mood. A leisurely walk may activate a couple endorphins and let you forget your worries for a bit, but an intense run or aerobics or spinning class could make your day.
I’ll admit it. Mom was right. Exercise is the best medicine for coping with stress. So make and take the time to get your heart rate and your mood elevated. The payoff will be worth it!