Looking back on 2014, I feel pretty proud of everything I've accomplished. There were many great highlights that I will always look upon fondly but as the new year rolls in, but I'm ready for a fresh start. Since running off to the mountains on a yoga retreat is not possible for me at the moment, I will start with small, easy, health and fitness changes here at home.
Health - Food & Drink
All the holiday indulgences have left my body feeling pretty crummy. I feel so sluggish and out of shape compared to just a few short weeks ago. I ask a lot of my body physically with trapeze and yoga, so I need to get back on track eating fresh, healthy foods. I have a pretty big sweet tooth and every year around this time it gets out of control. (You should see the giant container of brownies we have in the fridge, the piles of candy in the cupboard and the multiple pints of ice cream in the freezer.) Not to mention, over the past few months I've been so busy (and so lazy about cooking) that most of my meals are those of convenience and of little preparation. I'm sick of seeing to-go containers in my refrigerator and I need to make a change. I really want to fall in love with cooking or at least begin to enjoy it somehow. I need to further develop a plan for this and could use some inspiration, so I'd love any feedback in terms or suggestions on where to find easy, healthy, meat-free meals.
I'm usually pretty good about drinking plenty of water. I'm not really sure what happened but recently I've found myself getting pretty dehydrated at the rig. It's been to the point where I feel physically ill. Maybe with the cooler weather I'm feeling less overheated so I'm drinking less water but going forward, I will be more mindful with my water in-take. I would also like to cut down on the amount of coffee I drink daily, replacing at least one cup with a cup of green (ginger) tea.
Fitness - Flexibility & Strength
I would not call myself a naturally flexible person. Being relatively active my whole life has helped me maintain a certain amount of flexibility, however, most of where I am today is probably a result of yoga and regularly stretching and strengthening. I know I've increased my range of motion with a consistent yoga practice, however I do struggle with accepting my body's current flexibility because it does limit me in yoga and circus arts. I would like to continue increasing my flexibility in a safe and healthy way. I would love for this to be the year that I finally get my splits flat and my handstand balanced. These two particular goals coincide with my circus arts goals, however, during this journey I am committed to honoring my body in it's current state and being patient through this slow process.
My shoulders and back are pretty tight, I'm unable to stack my shoulders directly above my elbows and wrists, which makes it extremely difficult for me to hold a handstand. I understand the mechanics of the posture and have spent many hours working on it, however, I'm still no closer to staying inverted than I was a year ago. As a petite person and someone who loves circus-style flying, I really want to get into hand-to-hand and partner acro. I've gotten pretty frustrated with myself and my limited flexibility. If I can be completely honest, I stopped practicing my handstands altogether because of the plateau I was experiencing. I feel a similar frustration with my splits. My hamstrings have been fussy, so I've actually regressed quite a bit in regard to my front splits. The left side was almost flat a few months ago and now I'm struggling to get even remotely close due to the tightness.
A friend recently posted an incredibly inspiring video on instagram of his progress with gymnastics. Five months ago he could barely do a cartwheel and now he's throwing front flips with a half twist out. He's worked so hard and has come so far, it's incredibly inspiring. And it's a reminder that I need to be more patient with myself and my body.
The design of my anatomy may never allow me to really open up my back and shoulders and I am slowly trying to accept that, however, I will continue working to increase my range of motion and rather than give up when I get frustrated, I will use that energy to push through and motivate myself to keep going. I recently saw this quote and it hit home: "If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now." -unknown
Source unknown
I love that yoga simultaneously heats up the body, stretches and strengthens; it's efficient and feels so healthy for the muscles. My body responds so well to yoga, I'm planning to include more yoga-style warm ups prior to any aerial or circus arts I practice in the new year. In addition to upping my yoga game, I'm also going to explore free weights. I've been meaning to try out some of these shoulder exercises Lizzy posted. I had the awesome pleasure of watching some really great trapeze flyers practice the other day and it was so inspiring! They were so strong and so powerful, if I ever want to reach the next level of flying I really need to increase my strength. The same is necessary for my handstand and splits. I'm still working out the full details of my fitness plan, however, due to a promise to my fellow flying babe Jen, it will include 3 1-minute handstands (or in my case 6 :30 second handstands against the wall.) I'm really excited to document my progress and share it with you. Two years ago when I first saw TSNY, the trapeze school on the Santa Monica Pier, I never would have imagined that flying trapeze would become my hobby and my passion. And one year ago, I was unsure I really wanted to become a yoga instructor. So much can happen in a year or two, I'm really excited to see what this next chapter in my life brings. The photo at the top of the page was from the rig on 12/26/14, I can't wait to see where I'm at by 12/26/15!
Now it's time to go ring in the new year...Cheers to a transformative and extra-awesome 2015!!
GO SUSIE! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you talked about food and drink! My general philosophy is that if I train hard, then I'm allowed to eat or drink whatever I want, but I don't think this will fly all that well now that I'm in my 30s and my metabolism slows down ^_^; I happen to cook mostly vegetarian at home, since my husband wants to cut down on meat, and I often refer to recipes by Rose Elliot. I don't have a sweet tooth and I don't like coffee, but I love booze, cured meats, and cheese, which are just as bad really :(
Re: flexibility, I recently got chatting with a personal trainer, and she rec'd that I try self myofacial release - it's basically foam rolling. She highlighted that we can hold a lot of tension in the places that we least expect, like behind the knees and in the soles of our feet (we were discussing front and side splits). I've found that I'm a lot more flexible when I stretch after foam rolling :-)
Here's to exploring new heights in our flying in 2015! *clinks glass of lemon water*
Oh girl, I know what you mean about eating and drinking whatever you want. I started noticing the change in my late 20s, where I could no longer eat whatever I wanted without consequence. I became more aware of what I was consuming in an effort to maintain a certain comfort-level weigh-wise, but now it's becoming more about how I feel. I feel more awake and energized when I'm eating better. I'll check out Rose Elliot, I'm not familiar with her, thanks for the recommendation! =)
DeleteI'll also check out foam rolling, it sounds really nice and I've been meaning to check it out actually. I joined the Worldwide Splitter Challenge on fb too for some added accountability. We'll see how it goes, I don't know that I can commit to taking photos of myself stretching 5 days a week. I tried to get decent photos last night and I swear it took me 30 minutes and I still cut my feet out of the frame haha!
So far I've done 3 days of handstands. I'm still struggling to maintain correct form, but hopefully as I get stronger, it will become easier. Here's hoping! =D
What an awesome post! Sorry for the delayed response since I was also in holiday/vacation/self-engorgement mode. I get a little frustrated with the amount of sweets that get delivered (think BIG baskets filled with cookies, and not just for my boss, but also delivered for EVERY Exec on our team plus Post Production - so like, 10 baskets MINIMUM, and and and and - multiple times during the week!!!! GAHHHH!!!). I also did not get hardly any exercise (by my standards anyway) while in Hawaii, and the members of my group are much better at relaxing than me, so fried foods were running amok. I finally disentangled myself and found a salad bar at one of the restaurants and from there on out was feeling so much better that I was avoiding certain foods. After awhile, as much as I love cheeseburgers and fries, I start craving green leafy foods and shrimp and broiled chicken. My appetite was a little off too because I was on steroids for the trip (I will post about that on my own blog) so fortunately that warded me off too much alcohol. I, like Jen, love my booze/meats/cheese. The funny thing is, I've pulled back on a lot of that stuff just because of how it makes me FEEL. I noticed a big difference in how lean I look just from cutting back on vino. People thought I'd lost a few pounds because of trapeze. Yeah, no. Probably just me curbing alkie tendencies!
ReplyDeleteThis is just me, but if you're having some trouble with your hamstrings, I'd be super careful with not pushing too far too soon. Hamstring injuries and general crankiness with that linger and take a long time to heal. My right hamstring has been that way for the past year and my yoga teacher had given me a little strict guidance on it :/ I find it hard to be patient. I'm actually pretty flexible in some aspects, and then NOT flexible at all in others (my straddle is terrible). What I'm trying to find is the balance between opening up flexibility but only to the point that my strength will allow - you have to be able to support your muscles properly for what we do otherwise you'll bend too much and hurt yourself or blow out a shoulder. I read a post by a contortion guru we have out here, and she talked about how when adults learn to become more flexible, they have to be more careful than children. The reason is because as children grow, if they're already doing all these flexibility exercises, they are doing it when they don't weigh very much. Their muscles learn to grow and support that flexibility properly as they age, so their tendency to get injured isn't like what ours is. As adults, we are supporting far more weight, since we are bigger, so our journey to learn how to be flexible needs to be backed by more strength & stability. Hope I explained that right/fully/enough. I can dig the post out for you if you want!
Dude. My handstands are poopy and inconsistent. That's also something I need to work on this year along with you guys!!
Oh, one other thing, if it's helpful - on the days I don't feel like cooking, I end up eating caprese salads with some bresaola. This way I am getting some protein & dairy. I love veggies but I can' t live off of that, I feel weak and tired. I suppose one could argue it's cheese and cut meats, but bresaola is pretty lean and full of iron, and a salad like that is very filling, feels very fresh, and it's really easy to put together :) I try not to put prosciutto into the mix since it has a lot of sodium. My HUNCH is that a caprese is healthier than takeout Chinese food! Also maybe consider scrambled or poached eggs with some tomatoes on the side since that doesn't take much effort??? And I wonder if maybe your dehydration issues have to do with anything else you're eating or taking that is a diuretic - are you eating a lot of salt? Is there medication you're on that makes you thirsty? Just spitballing for ya!!!
oxoxox
CC how was your trip? I loved following along on fb, Hawaii looks beautiful! I know what you mean about all the treats in the office during the holidays, I felt like I had to cover my eyes and run screaming every time I left my desk.
ReplyDeleteI love caprese salad, I never think to make it at home though. I've been trying to keep hard boiled eggs around the house for a quick and easy snack. I don't eat meat, but I do love eggs and tomatoes, thanks for the suggestions. :) So far I've been eating better, eating at home and having more raw veggies, but I still need to continue cutting down on the sweets. The alcohol does make a difference, I always feel less bloated when I cut out the drinkies.
I think the dehydration could be because I'll have a couple drinks the night before and then I drink a lot of coffee in the morning and barely drink any water until later in the day. I totally know better than to allow myself to get that dehydrated. I think it could also be low blood sugar. I tend to skip breakfast and only eat a banana or something small on the way to the rig, then I'm starving by the time lunch rolls around. I need to make time to properly take care of myself before I leave for the day. And also be mindful to stay hydrated while I'm working.
I've fallen off the handstand wagon once again. :( I need to figure out a way to carve out time to work on them daily. I've been really sore the past few days from pushing myself hard at yoga and aerials that I've had zero motivation to work on handstands. I've been trying to float myself more from down dog to the top of the mat, so I'll consider that handstand prep. ;)
Thanks for the advice on my hamstring, I'd love to read the article you mentioned. :) One huge take away I have from my yoga teacher training is listening to my body. I've made strides with putting my ego aside and accepting my body as is it is on any given day. Some days are more difficult than others. ;) In general I try to be very careful with my hamstrings. I know a few people who have torn theirs and it looks like a long, slow, painful recovery. I took a flexibility class the other day and was very clear that I would not push myself on my left split or do anything that aggravated it. In general it feels much better than it did a few months ago, but I still won't push it further than is comfortable. I have lost of significant amount of flexibility in my left split, but now, I'm really more focused on proper alignment rather than pushing it down flat. I'm hoping that regular stretching with good form will help me increase my flexibility in all my splits this year. My back flexibility has been improving, which is cool but my upper back is still pretty tight and I tend to overcompensate in my lower back, especially in wheel/back bends. So I'm working to try to really open up my upper back and more evenly elongate the entire spine. I really have to remind myself to be mindful in my back bends.
I'd love to hear more about your hand balancing classes you're taking. :) What sort of conditioning or skills are you currently working on?