Nate takes us through a simple psoas (so-as) stretch to help with pesky low back pain.
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Here is a quick stretch you can do on a foam roller to open up your chest and relieve upper back pain from sitting in front of your computer all day. Pointers on how to foam roll the IT Band to help with pain and tightness from running, skiing, biking, etc. Nate shows a quick foam rolling technique to help with low back pain and rebalancing the pelvis. Here is a quick video with 3 techniques you can use to get a little stress relief at your desk. Enjoy!! Shoulder release, forearm/wrist stretch, self massage for forearm and wrist.  I know its a been a while since my last post about opening our conscious bodies. In fact, after writing part one, I had to sit with all the questions I posed and feel how my body wanted to proceed. One of the biggest question posed was Are you willing to open yourself up to listening more closely when your body speaks to you? If you are, then how do you do that? In this part of the series I want to speak to exactly that; how do we listen?
Our body speaks in subtle ways and because of this, the first thing we must do is quiet our mind and external stimulation. It can be as simple as just sitting or lying in a quiet room to remove external stimulation. Quieting the mind can be a little more challenging and may take practice. One of the easiest ways I have found to do this is through the breath.
 When I first started my career, I worked in an injury rehabilitation setting. It was an amazing experience and I was able to grow my knowledge of the body and how it works. I was very successful in treating all sorts of injuries from auto accidents, to work accidents, and even post operation recovery. However, I found that no matter what techniques I was using or what other therapies they were receiving, the clients would not fully heal. Their pain would become manageable, life would almost resume to normal for them, but there were remnants of the injury that would not heal. For several years, I thought that this was just how things worked. What if I was wrong about that-what if it is possibly to have complete recovery from anything? What if the body is more capable of healing than we ever thought possible? How can we get out of the way so our body can show us what is possible for it?
The first step in this process is opening a line of communication. Your body does communicate with your mind and being. At first, it is in subtle whispers. In our loud world of “bigger, better, faster,” it is easy for those whispers to be drowned out by impatience and the idea that what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Would you be willing to open yourself up to listening more closely when your body does speak to you? What if in doing this, you can be free of limited choices that you think your body is causing? And, what if this leads to a better communication between you and your body, eventually eliminating the need to cause pain altogether? The second part of this is to trust your body. When we fall prey to injury or disease, it is very easy to stop trusting our body and to try to keep it from being harmed again. Unfortunately, this judgment that our body needs our “help” is what keeps these patterns in place. Have you ever tried to prevent re-injury by “protecting” a movement and ended up hurting yourself anyway? What if your chronic disease is showing you something you still need to look at? If you are willing to see a different perspective for your body, information will start to come from it. I know this poses many more questions than it answers, which is why I created this blog series. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as I dive deeper into these topics!  In the beginning of this year I set several fitness and health goals. Many people around me were doing these crazy restrictive cleanses like the lemon, maple syrup, cayenne and water master cleanse or juicing for several days. While I understand these are helpful for some do provide benefits, these types of cleanses are not for me. I have always been under the moderation rule, especially when it comes to eating. In early spring, a friend of mine made a statement that stuck with me. He said, “you can mask poor fitness with a healthy diet, but you can’t mask a poor diet with great fitness.” I am not sure who said this originally, but I knew that I could probably do some things to clean up what I was eating. A Personal Trainer and friend of mine, Ty Sonaty, told me about a 7 day eating plan he gives to all of his clients when they first start training with him. The idea is to clean out the bad and put in the good and you actually get to eat! I was very intrigued, because I like to eat. He gave me permission to share the grocery list and the eating plan. At the bottom of this post are links to both. With the grocery list in hand, my girlfriend Meghann and I went to Sprouts and bought everything we needed for the both of us to follow this plan for 7 days for just over $200.
The plan starts out primarily vegan, sugar free, gluten free and adds in meat in days 6 and 7. There are 2 or 3 smoothies, a salad, and snacks of berries or nuts everyday. Also if you are still hungry you can eat as many vegetables as you want to get your fill. This was the part I liked. The first two days were pretty easy. I had enough energy, was full enough and all the food was pretty good and not too repetitive. The first challenge didn’t hit until after dinner on day three. I was full from a giant salad but for some reason was standing in front of the fridge with the door open looking for something else to eat; which was quite interesting, because as I said before, I was full. I found myself getting a little flustered because my mind and my stomach were arguing over something I did not understand at the time. An hour later I made the “dessert” smoothie and went to bed. What I realized the next morning is that I had not had any sugar for three days and was having a withdrawal. Oh, well. It passed. The rest of the week went smoothly. I had more than enough energy and felt I was eating well and enough. On day 6, I decided to weigh myself. To my surprise, I had lost 15 pounds! That is 7% of my total body weight. Meghann weighed in too, she lost 9 pounds, which was almost 7% of her total body weight. We were both amazed. We went about our normal lives that week except for our diets and had some pretty amazing results. The best part of this though, is that it really did reset my eating habits. I have found may new and healthy choices that I actually like. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still eat some indulgent things periodically like pizza and cheese, but I now have the tools and knowledge of the information my body gives me to know when I have had my fill and how to clean it out again quickly. I still use the smoothies regularly and will opt to have a salad sometimes. I have been able to keep that same 15 pounds off for the last 8 months by eating sensibly and regular exercise. Here are the links to the grocery list and plan: Grocery List Eating Plan Also be sure to check out Ty Sonaty’s Denver Functional Fitness Page. He is an awesome Trainer and Kettle Bell Specialist. Thanks for reading!!! 
Gluten Free Banana Apple Sauce Bread (No Sugar Added)
Organic Bananas 3-4 Organic Cinnamon Apple Sauce ¾ Cup Raw Honey 2 TBSP Organic Butter 1 Stick softened Free Range Eggs 2 Vanilla Extract 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Gluten Free Flour Blend 2 Cups Cinnamon on Top Baking Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix bananas, applesauce, melted butter and honey, eggs and vanilla extract til smooth, (I use a potato masher). It helps to mix the warmed butter and raw honey together first as the honey is pretty solid. Fold in Flour and baking powder. Once well mixed, place in a greased bread pan, sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For a variation try adding shaved dark chocolate or carob chips!  2-5oz Ahi Tuna Steaks
Salad 1 Handful Baby Spinach 1 Handful Baby Kale 1/2 Orange Pepper 1/2 Red Pepper 1/3 to 1/2 Cucumber 1 Medium Size Tomato 4-6 Quartered Marinated Artichoke Hearts 2 TBSP Pumpkin Seeds 1/4 Cup Feta Cheese Vinaigrette Juice of 1 Lemon 2 TBSP Olive Oil Pepper to taste Dried Basil to Taste Dried Oregano to Taste Dill To Taste Salad Prep Put The Spinach and Kale in a large salad bowl. Quarter and slice the Cucumber and Tomato and add. Chop the Peppers and Artichoke Hearts and add. Add the rest of the ingredients. Vinaigrette Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk till well mixed. Pour over the salad and gently mix or toss so it is evenly distributed. Tuna Preheat a frying pan with a TBSP of grape seed oil or bacon grease large enough for both pieces to fit in easily to medium high to high heat. Season both sides of the tuna with Lemon Pepper, Dill, Oregano, Basil, Salt if you like. Place the tuna in the hot pan and let cook on each side for approximately 45 seconds or less. You want to see that just the edge is starting to brown. Slice the tuna (using a sharp knife) into strips against the grain of the fish. Serving The tuna can be added on top of the salad in a bowl or next to it on a plate, (like the picture). You could also slice an avocado and place over the salad for some extra omegas! This is one of my recent favorites to prepare. It is very quick and easy and tastes great. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to omit or replace any of the salad ingredients. Kalamata Olives would probably be a great addition as well. |
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