My 18 Year Pilgrimage Back To The Weight Room
Wait, I think...
For 12 years, from age 23 to 35, I lifted weights daily. Gym rat I was: bench pressing, dead lifting, squatting... yes, all of it. Eventually I purchased home equipment consisting of a bench, barbell, weight plates, and dumbbells.
At 35, I was bored and looking for change. I decided to start a Yoga asana practice. I had been doing Yoga Mindfulness work for 9 years. It was time to add in the poses. Then, after a year of every other day weight lifting & every other day Yoga asana practice, I completely bagged the weight training. The bench and paraphernalia was hauled to the top of my street and left on State Rt. #56. Before I could return with trunk load 2, the bench and barbell were gone. The decision was final, no going back.
Wait, I think...
For 12 years, from age 23 to 35, I lifted weights daily. Gym rat I was: bench pressing, dead lifting, squatting... yes, all of it. Eventually I purchased home equipment consisting of a bench, barbell, weight plates, and dumbbells.
At 35, I was bored and looking for change. I decided to start a Yoga asana practice. I had been doing Yoga Conscious Connection work (Mindfulness) for 9 years. It was time to add in the poses. Then, after a year of every other day weight lifting & every other day Yoga asana practice, I completely bagged the weight training. The bench and paraphernalia was hauled to the top of my street and left on State Rt. #56. Before I could return with trunk load 2, the bench and barbell were gone. The decision was final, no going back.
Here I am at 53 and contemplating doing the gym rat thing again. How I wish I still had that equipment. Home fitness routines are my best bet. The hassle of running to a gym doesn't excite me.
So why do I contemplate going back? Well, I am not getting younger and I can see the impacts of age creeping towards me: muscle strength and size diminishing, tone is sliding earth side... damn aging and gravity!
Heading back to the gym and doing some weight lifting / strength training will provide these benefits:
Body composition that retain muscle mass and keeps fat stores in check
Keep up muscle strength
Prevention of estrogen dominance (see the body comp info above). When we age and go through the menopausal years, our bodies produce less & less progesterone because we no longer ovulate. Body fat tissue produces estrogen. Excess body fat contributes to estrogen dominance. Yeah, I don't want that.
Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue. So I can eat more (100% body nourishing whole foods, of course!) without gaining weight as I age. Yeah, ok, I'll take that side benefit.
My mentor, as I went through my Holistic Health Coaching Certification, was Michelle Smith of Forever Fit With Michelle. This gal is 10 years older than me and rocks the world of fitness, weight training, & body building competitions. Yup, she's a champion! Her anti-aging services include whole food education (sound familiar?) and weight training. If she can do what she does at 63, I can reach my lesser goals at 53. Nope, not looking to be a body building champ but I am wicked proud of my mentor Michelle!
Bone strength is important to me. Weight training keeps bone mass building, maintains a healthier osteoclast vs. osteoblast functioning. Look that stuff up if you want to learn some fun bone biology / physiology.
I have been doing pull ups / pushups / reverse pushups (think back bend pushups / chin ups / Yoga squats & lunges. But I think I need more and I keep injuring my left shoulder, trapezius muscle, doing pull ups.
I will continue to do yoga, 5 days a week. My 2 days in the gym, pumping iron, will be simple and concise workouts. As a former fitness trainer, I have my plans already created. My weight training moves will be Yoga poetry in motion in the weight room:
slow movements with conscious intention
breath work
inner steadiness & peace
I made it back to the weight room, June 27th, 2019
Nick, Me, & Eli (My Son)… committed to growing our muscles!
UPDATE 6-27-2019 Things I’ve noticed about how Yoga has improved my weightlifting:
I am conscious of my breathe moving through my body as I lift and no holding my breath when I am in exertion mode.
I take a 5 slow deep abdominal breath “savasana” in between each set.
I have better consciousness around the alignment of my joints to prevent injury.
I’m working from a heart space physically, energetically, emotionally, & spiritually. My Sacred Circle Mentorship Students will understand this. ; )
Please make comments below on your favorite local gym & why:
SUNY Potsdam,
SUNY Canton,
SLU,
Clarkson, or
one of the privately owned gyms in the Potsdam - Canton area.
I am not looking for fancy aerobic equipment, in fact I won't use any, as I prefer to be outside wandering the woods with my dog. I am a simplicity seeker: I am looking for the nuts and bolts for weight lifting to build strength. No frills.
More Anti-Aging tips for you:
40+ FaceFix Skin Therapy for Mature & Sun Damaged faces & necks.
Voluptuous V for vaginal care as we age to keep vaginal tissue plump and healthy. Perfect for sensuous glide at any age.
Hands On Health is your lifestyle primer. You have to take care of your body, from the inside out, for true anti-aging benefits.
Weaving Healing Wisdom (co-written with Jenny Kenny Morrill) supports your healing of body, mind, & spirit - this IS powerful anti-aging magic!
Which End of the Battery Are You?
Weight Loss, Vibrant Health, Dis - Ease of the body... How do they all fit together in some sort of sensible way? And, what does the battery have to do with it all?
Reasonable questions, hang with me on this one and I will explain.
I work with people, daily, on their health & well being through my online classes and 1 on 1 consultations. These people, my clients and students, are motivated to change their lives, relief ill health symptoms, and live in a dis - ease free body.
The steps to getting to this space of ease in the body (lack of dis - ease) are similar for all problems:
- tease out the root causes of the problems
- remove the causes of the problem
- heal the digestive tract of inflammation of the gut lining, lack of balance in the gut microbes, remove food sensitivities...
- calm the immune system
- nourish the liver
- balance nutritional intake, balance blood sugar , & balance body weight
- add in healthy lifestyle habits (daily movement, botanicals-herbs, etc.), including whole food eating, that will nourish the body cells and whole body back to a state of ease
- understand this is a lifestyle and commit to living these changes... well, for life.
Each of these steps are personalized for each individual's specific needs based on their body's bio-chemistry and their own personality needs.
Let's get to that battery!
I have two teen boys. Teens can be snarly, negative word spouting fountains from time to time. We were having a dinner time discussion on the role of mind set in creating disease and healing the body.
Spread Love Where Ever You Go. Let No One Ever Come To You Without Leaving Happier. Mother Teresa.
Basically, which end of the battery are you? Positive or negative? What do you surround yourself with:
- negative or positive people?
- negative or positive words, thoughts, and actions?
- negative or positive media, screen time?
When we work to change our lives for healing, we must remember the power of the ends of our personal batteries.
Negative words, conversations, thoughts, actions, people, news, social media crap, etc. are just as toxic to our body cells as:
- heavy metals toxins
- agricultural chemicals, pesticides and the like,
- synthetic ingredients in factory made food
- factory made food itself
- chlorine
- etc. etc. etc.
Every negative experience, no matter how brief, creates negative vibrational frequencies in our miraculous & beautiful body cells. Just like other toxic impacts, these negative frequencies cause inflammation that lead to ill health, dis - ease in the body. Negativity contributes to a weaker immune system and the impacts of a weakened immune system: ill health in all areas (acute issues such as colds and flu to chronic inflammatory issues of lifestyle diseases, auto-immune responses, and cancer.
Your Everyday Positivity Prescription:
- Every AM think of 1 kind thing you can do for someone else. Even tiny little acts of kindness have a huge positive ripple in your world and the world at large.
- A positive act of kindness for self (10 minutes of yoga anyone?).
- Be aware of negative thoughts creeping into your mind & stop them dead in their tracks. Replace them immediately with positive thoughts. Generating positive thoughts will become a habit quickly.
- Negative people... move away. Surround yourself with positive people.
- Negative conversations? Find a way to subvert to positive or excuse yourself from the conversation to go do a random act of kindness.
- Everyday remind yourself of 1 thing you are grateful for.
- Every night as you lie down to sleep: remind yourself of that thing you are grateful for and something good that happened that day.
- Remind yourself of the grateful thing every AM.
Gratitude is the attitude of happy folk!
The power of thought is the magic of the mind! Lord Byron
Much love and gratitude for you being here & reading this! Paula
The sign on my front door:
Anti-Inflammatory Butter Recipe
To my delight, the Potsdam Food Co-op recently had a basket full of wild turmeric root*. Before I could discover it, I received several messages from personal clients and Co-op members... "Hey Paula, guess what I found at the Co-op? AND, what do I do with it now that I have it?"
Suggestions:
- grate into soups, stews, and stir fries
- add to grated root veggie slaws
- grate into butter and nut butters
- grind into smoothies** if you are a smoothie person (See eBook information below)
- add to yummy chai tea
Keep in mind that turmeric is absorbed and used more efficiently (healing & nutritionally speaking) when it is eaten with fat. Some plant constituents (the natural chemicals in plants) are better broken down, absorbed, and assimilated into your cells when fat is part of the equation. Healthy fat is also a great help in weight loss, healing body cells, and creating vibrant health.
So... I decided to make Wild Turmeric Butter! No, this is not local butter but I was out of Kriemhild Butter and I get tired of stock piling the plastic containers it comes in. Time for me to special order some of the 1 lb. rolls that are wrapped in paper. Hmm, they do sell a 50 pound block! :)
Wild Turmeric Butter Recipe
Into the vita-mix I threw:
- 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) of cow's milk butter, see image above
- 1/3 cup raw, local honey
- 2-3 tbsp. of organic, extra virgin olive oil (always make sure it comes from a virgin!)
- 1/3 cup organic, raw, unrefined coconut oil
- 1/3 cup raw coconut butter (this contains all edible parts of the coconut not just the oil)
- 6-7 small pieces of wild turmeric root
- 2 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp. dry ginger root powder (next time I will use a piece of fresh, organic ginger root)
Then I blended it thoroughly. This took using the vita mix plunger to keep pushing the mix of ingredients into the blades. I also shut off the blender twice to scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula until all was well blended.
The next time I make this decadent and scrumptious butter I will use only cow's milk butter with the honey, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. I was down to my last 1/2 pound block of butter. Being without butter in my home is a tragedy!
Looking into the vita mix
Turmeric butter on toast with a fried duck egg from Nature's Storehouse in Canton.
Finished Turmeric Butter in it's jar
*Curcumin, turmeric's most active ingredient, reduces the formation of fat tissue. Turmeric suppresses the blood vessels needed to form new fat tissue (it is an anti-inflammatory herb and excess fat formation is an inflammatory response) and therefore may help prevent fat build-up. Curcumin use, from turmeric, results in improvements in insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and other inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity, metabolic disorders, and even cancer.
**Smoothies:
No Quick Fixes
The "quick fix miracle" I can offer to you...
Almost daily I receive emails and/or FB messages asking me for quick fixes for all sorts of health symptoms and ills including weight loss products... "Will this really work for me and make me lose the weight?" I have stopped sending answers with suggestions. Truly, for me to even consider responding to these messages is unethical on my part as it does not serve the person's best interests.
Quick fixes do not exist for problems that have settled into our body cells over a lifetime of eating and other less than optimal lifestyle habits. Truly it takes motivation to change and commitment to the process for the "fix" to be had. And... the fix is a lifetime process, a lifetime commitment. When we reach the goal, be it weight loss or the end of some cluster of ill health symptoms, our wellness walk is not over. The walk is a walk of life and for life: a commitment to self to make the best choices every day for cellular health and overall vital wellness.
Now I will tell you this: sometimes there are quick relief strategies for problems and symptoms. What I mean is I can suggest a little tweak here and a little tweak there to give quick relief for some issues while we work to get at the underlying reason these problems exist. Then we can work on changing what needs to be changed to get rid of the problem symptoms forever.
Examples of some quick relief strategies (keep in mind these are not long term solutions but rather a "get me over the hump until we can figure better solutions":
muscle spasms and cramps (especially at night making you shoot up out of bed in crazed agony): take magnesium 400 mg at bedtime and drink more pure water throughout your day.
constipation: again, magnesium (of the citrate variety) will assist here as well as more fruits and veggies, more pure water, move your body daily, and maybe use some herbs for a bit of relief until we can correct the underlying issues.
sleep issues (keep in mind sleep issues can vary from trouble falling asleep, to staying asleep, to experiencing quality sleep): magnesium can help here as well, get off the caffeine and sugar, get outside and move...
Last night I was told the story of a local man who has transformed himself (over 2 years... it is about the long haul and commitment to self). He went from a 340 pound ill health human with serious cardiac issues; severe back, hip, knee, and ankle/feet issues; diabetes; depression with 3 medications; and high cholesterol to a 180 man with no health issues, no medications, and a healthy, fit body free from disease and depression.
What did he do? Changed the way he ate, what he ate, and got his butt to the gym and out for walks every single day. Sunshine. Fresh air. Movement. Real food, nothing processed. No sugar. Inner Conscious Connection work: how he thinks about himself and the world.
Why? Because his body was falling apart from the way he had ill treated it. It was a conscious decision on his part: stay grossly obese and sick or choose health.
He is a happy man for his endeavors and I wish he was my poster child! He did this on his own - Woo Hoo for him!
Lifestyle choices are up to you. I am offering you the opportunity and support to make health and healing choices in your life.
Blessing of good health and happiness on your personal path, Paula
E-Courses To Walk Your Health Path
Chewing for Weight Loss
I have written about the virtues of chewing on a few occasions. Every day I see health issues that could benefit from better chewing, so...
I feel compelled to write about chewing again because your whole body's health depends on the quality of food you eat AND that very food getting to your each and every body cell. Chewing is a foundational habit of good health.
Chewing properly:
- unlocks the nutrients in the whole food you feed yourself with so those nutrients can feed your body cells which
- makes for vibrant healthy body cells (this is a front line defense against disease of all manners)
- creates a healthy digestive tract
- feeds healthy gut microbes which in turn keep your immune and nervous systems healthy (really, your whole body healthy)
- prevents constipation
- prevents gastro-intestinal ill health symptoms
- and so many more whole health effects!
Chewing for Whole Cellular Health
Eating begins with the simple act of chewing which leads to smooth digestion and greater absorption and assimilation of nutrients by initiating the release of digestive enzymes that break down food. The better chewed your food, the better your body can absorb and use the food’s nutrition. This means healthier better nourished body cells.
The chewing action sends messages between the mouth, brain, and stomach alerting your digestive tract that food is coming. This helps to jump start the whole digestive tract for smoother functioning by starting your digestive juices rolling!
Have you ever chewed a piece of gum only to find your stomach churning and growling within 20 minutes? Your chewing of gum is telling your tummy that something is coming. In the case of chewing gum, nothing is actually headed down to the stomach. You have started the digestive process but not given your digestive tract food to work on.
Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth with chewing. Chewing converts whole grains, fruits and veggies, and other complex carbohydrates into satisfying whole food sugars. Whole foods must be mixed with saliva and chewed until they become liquid to release their full nutritional value.
In addition, the more whole carbohydrate foods are chewed, the sweeter they become. This, in of itself, helps to naturally satisfy the “sweet tooth” and end sugar cravings.
Better carbohydrate digestion, from efficient chewing, helps to end that bloated feeling after a meal. Bloat can be carbohydrates that are not digesting well from inadequate chewing and the resultant lack of mixing with salivary enzymes. You literally stop digestion in its tracts from poor chewing habits, making the stomach and small intestine work harder than nature intended.
Chewing breaks apart proteins and fats making the oils, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and all nutrients available for maximum absorption. Because digestion becomes so efficient when you chew your food thoroughly, your body will begin to feel wonderfully light.
Chewing food well takes your mouth and senses through the whole range of flavors in foods. This mindfulness practice, while eating, ensures that your senses experience sweet, salty, bitter, pungent, sour, astringent, and spicy. By chewing and experiencing these tastes, your body is satisfied with less food. No cravings later! (When your blender chews the food for you, you miss this taste sensation experience.)
Try this experiment: Eat a carrot. Chew it poorly (or what is normal chewing for you), leaving good size chunks in your mouth and swallow them. Aim for the size of sunflower or pumpkin seed chunks and swallow. What do you think you will find in your solid waste? You've got it, those very same chunks of carrots, virtually unchanged.
Chew another piece, slowly and taking your time, until the piece of carrot resembles smooth pudding in your mouth. No chunks will be found in your solid waste and your body will be able to absorb all the nutrients from the carrot. Chunks in your solid waste are food wasted; no nutrients can be pulled from the interior of solid chunks of food. Your digestive tract only pulls what it can from the surface area of these food chunks. When food is like “pudding” when swallowed, the food’s surface area is immense and available for digestion and absorption of nutrients.
“Drink your solids, chew your liquids.” An intelligent saying Dr. John Christopher, Naturopath, repeated over and over in the classes I took in Natural Healing and Herbal Medicine. When the solid food you swallow is in liquid form from chewing, your body can absorb all the nutrients in that food. (Whole food eating is expensive. Chew well to get your $$$ worth!) This ensures healthy cell regeneration and deposits into your nutritional banks (not withdrawals and degenerative cells!). This is a foundational practice for good nutrition and whole health.
When consuming liquids, chew them thoroughly also, so you are doing a fine job mixing those salivary enzymes with all the food that passes slowly through your mouth.
Chewing helps you lose weight!
When you slow down and thoroughly chew your food, you create a consciousness around what you are eating and your body’s satiation response (feeling physically satisfied). Chewing food well means your body can digest it better (break it down into usable nutrients) and absorb it better into your blood stream. This means that your each and every body cell will be delivered plenty of whole food nutrition. Your body will not be begging you for more food all the time if your cells are well nourished. Much of the time our hunger is not for more quantities of food and calories but it is a cry from our body for better nutrition, more nutrients at the cellular level. Slowing down to chew food into pudding like consistency (or chewing already liquid foods very well before swallowing) delivers more nutrients to the cells, squelches your body’s begging for food, prevents over eating calories every day, and ultimately supports your body in losing excess weight.
Chew well… life depends on this!
How to Chew Properly
•To get into the habit of chewing correctly, try counting the chews in each bite. It helps if you put your fork down between bites.
•Chew every mouthful of food at least 30 times each, until the food becomes liquid. Chew a minimum of 50 times if what you are eating is a really solid food (raw carrot).
•Chewing preps the digestive organs telling them food is coming. Better digestion is the result as the organs get prepped to release the necessary digestive enzymes.
•Chewing breaks down food and makes it easier on the stomach and small intestine to digest and prepare the nutrients for your beautiful body cells.
•Saliva assists in the digestion of carbohydrates, makes the food more alkaline, and creates less gas.
If under pressure at meals: take deep breaths before you begin your meal, chew, and let the simple act of chewing relax you. Taking the time to chew will help you to enjoy the whole spectrum of tastes and aromas that make up the meal. Taking the time to chew will increase cellular health as the nutrients are more available to your body cells!
Slowing down and taking the time to chew is actually a stress reduction exercise. It is a mindfulness exercise, the yoga of eating, around your food.
Good Meal Prep and Eating Suggestions
•Wash up.
•Create quiet spaces and peace for eating, turn off the “screens”.
•Use candle light to create peace and relaxation.
•Sit up with good posture.
•Say a prayer thanking the local farmers for their hard work, the earth that grew your food, your higher power, whoever cooked your meal, and your family and friends who dine with you. The simple act of gratitude slows and calms the body, mind, and soul.
•Put your utensil down when chewing.
•Relax, breathe, and experience the textures and flavors.
•Eat in a relaxed setting: not the car, your desk at work, standing at the kitchen counter, or while on the run.
•Say thanks after you eat as well.
•Create post meal conversation instead of bolting to the “next” activity
•Go for a walk, sit on the porch just listening, create a post meal relaxation experience
Enjoy every meal for the gift of life that it truly is, Paula
5 Shocking Ways Yoga Causes You To Lose Weight
updated 8/3/2210-18-2024 Update: this link is no longer active to the Sivana Spirit blog. I am working on getting the article contents back from the company and I will post it here.
Yoga is an awesome healing tool!
I confess, I did not write the title to my article published on the international Yoga blog: Sivana Spirit.
Had I written the title, I would not have used the work "shocking" as Yoga's affects no longer shock me. I am not certain they ever did. I do know, had I been asked 20 years ago when I started doing Yoga postures, I would not have expected all the benefits Yoga has brought into my life. (Notice I put postures in italics up there. I have been doing Yoga meditation, guided visualizations, and mindfulness work since I was 26. I sincerely had no idea this was Yoga. When I started doing postures, I thought like so many others do, that the postures were Yoga. I have learned a lot!)
But these Yoga revelations have not been "shocking." They have been smooth and silky, warm and fuzzy, and oh so stealth in sneaking into my life.
To read more about these "shocking" Yoga weight loss impacts and benefits, click here.
Yoga truly is an easy and amazing tool for health and healing. Maybe this fact is the shocker in a culture that prefers more difficult answers.
Yoga tones the vagus nerve… this is a huge factor in creating awareness of what triggers you to do the things you do & react the way you react. You become a calmer, more peaceful person, able to stop - reflect - and chose healthy choices as opposed to knee jerk reacting into emotional outbursts and choices that do not serve your highest good or healing energy.
Namaste good people.
Yoga Supports these things in Your Life (photos added 7/17/19)
