Next phase of Smokin’ Hot Bod-It’s You and Me Frog!

A few quotes I’d like to bring to… my attention.

“What if  first, we got clear on how we actually wanted to feel within ourselves, and then we designed our to-do lists?” 

and

“If you want the BEST version of YOU, you need to do something differently than what got you to who you are today.  Make no change. See no change

Here’s what I know:

1.  No two transformations are the same.

2.  There is more than one path to health. (I’ve said this before but worth repeating)

Where do you stand on your physical fitness goals and your current feelings as to whether you think they can be achieved?  It is why I posted what I did today. I have been at almost every place along the continuum and am still exploring new stops along the way!”

Yes, smarty pants, those were all written by me in previous posts.  The first line is from my last post: A World of Possibilities (http://wp.me/p22WhY-c6) and the entire last bit is an excerpt from  All of Me, which is one of my favourites. (http://wp.me/p22WhY-5X)

Have I already run out of new material that I have to regurgitate old posts and quotes.  You so cray cray!  Of course not.  See, today I visited a very reputable doctor whom is a back specialist.  He hails from Russia and Israel where he was a neurologist specializing in the spine and injuries before moving here 8 years ago.

Because my results with the physiotherapist didn’t last, I felt I must find a solution.  To recap, I injured my lower back and have a jammed SI joint and ongoing upper back and neck issues due to old accidents and heavy duty whiplash.  Medical x-rays show hip bones shifted and tilted and definitely SI joint issues.

I started stretching in dry saunas and tried hot yoga at the recommendation of the Shapeshifter.   I discovered that pain in my lower back became incredibly more tolerable after any stretching session. And after a training session, legs in particular, it would be aggravated again.

The doctor today confirmed my joint is blocked, a few bones are shifted and that there is a ton of scar tissue that is preventing my from being able to stretch or even build muscle optimally.

He indicated that for 7-8 treatments he would need to work on breaking down the scar tissue with deep connective tissue treatment, otherwise known as OUCH with a capital YIKES but very NECESSARY.

Then he hit me with the doozy.  It would be counterproductive to strength train if we really want to resolve your painful state and for you  actually feel good. Period.

“All strength training?  Even…upper body?” Gimme something here doc. He smiled and stated that when I work my lower body in particular but really for shoulders and back as well, I keep introducing spasms and tightness which exacerbates the existing spasms and tightness I have.  He said that after his treatments I should be able to resume training and likely find that I find faster gains, better flexibility and more muscle being recruited to the specific exercises.

Interesting.  When I was training with Simone, and doing the famous Jefferson squat, she pointed out to me that I wasn’t getting the full benefit of the exercise because my limited flexibility wasn’t letting me squat low enough to engage the bits and pieces I wanted to really engage.  She also offered that this is why flexibility training is key for weight lifters in order to continue to chisel muscles and shape as you progress.

I pushed my luck.  ”Ok, what about cardio? Any jumping, plyometrics and the like?”  He smiled and replied with, “Swimming, yoga, stretching and walking. What you said, not so much.”

He reminded me that I was young (brownie points right there) and that there was a huge opportunity here for me to go through the rest of life feeling good.

Wait a minute.  That works with how I want to feel. (see first quote).  Feeling good is mucho high on my to-do list.

But no lifting for 4-8 weeks.  Wow. I decided to call the Shapeshifter and bend her ear on it a little bit.

She agreed with the doc’s call 100%.  She reminded me about progress, about how different bodies need different activities and regimes in order to progress and of all the inspirational stories of people whom used yoga as a daily practice to heal from injuries only to discover a new, lean, strong body as just one of the results.

I have had limited experience with Yoga.  Let’s start in my 20′s when I attended a class with a friend and we were handed a big book on spirituality and yoga and told to have it read by the next class.  Although it fascinated me, it wasn’t high on the priority list at the time and we both abandoned it.

Next, a few DIY videos at home.  I liked the instructor but I felt so uncomfortable and in pain and again, wanted a quick fix for flexibility.  It felt too much like work and I shelved the DVD for the time being.

This brings us to P90x Yoga.  90 minutes of hell is my vivid recollection of this experience.

Yup.

So that brings me to Moksha Yoga.  Moksha means heat.  I like heat.  It loosens me up, it somehow makes stretching easier when my muscles feel all warm and gooey.  The instructors have been phenomenal in the 3 classes I’ve tried and they have a class called Yin Yoga which specializes in opening the lower body with stretches held for 3-5 minutes. Bingo.

After speaking with Simone and really thinking about what 4-8 weeks will look like big picture, I decided to remind myself of what I wrote in All of Me.  I do want the best version of me.  And that means sometimes having to do something different to achieve that.  And of course, my mantra, “There is more than one path to health.”

Here’s my plan.

I will be attending yoga classes almost daily and putting a hold to all lifting.

I will see this doctor for treatments and check in with my gut and my body as to how well things are progressing.

I will continue to eat clean, six times a day and take in lots of fresh water.

I will have to work on not focusing on body fat percentage as the be all end all of my success.  Sounds dumb just typing that out for God’s sake!

And you know what I adore about all of this?

For those of you thinking that you have to weight train or have to do this cardio or that cardio or blahdey, blah, blah, you will have to think again.

Start at where you are with what resounds most with your soul.  You will move from there but commit to start. Something. Anything.  The smallest step.  Do it. Do it now!  You will be blown away by where it can eventually take you if you can get out of your own way and not judge where you think you should be heading.

OH that’s a good one.  Arlene, are you listening? I had to literally SHOVE myself out of the way to wrap my head around no strength training.  I started out loathing the lifting bit, only to find myself in a place where it is the one type of exercise I made sure I never missed while sometimes letting cardio go by the wayside . And, now, I have to shelf the training and give my body and soul what it really needs.

My sister gave me this beauty 4 years ago, pretty much about the time I started to put all the pieces together with my health and self goals:

She said, “This will ultimately be you. In shape, happy, all zen like and flexible.”

At the time, I loved the figurine and thought, “That would be nice” but wasn’t super-duper convinced.  I despised Yoga.

Now, I really think that frog looks just like me.  Don’t you????

I’m hungry.  Time for a Shapeshifter approved snack that tastes outta this world and supports me creating the person I want to be…every day.

Love,

Arlene

PS  How did you feel reading this post?  Shocked.  Nothing?  Surprised?  Let Down.  Pleased?  Relieved?  I just gotta know!  Leave a reply in the comment section and I promise to reply to every one.

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