Arthritis......wait a minute

 I am enjoying Daniel Lieberman's "Exercised".  He is tackling the myth that our joints wear out.  He says if inactivity were good for arthritis, the lack of physical activity in the western world today should mean that arthritis should have just about disappeared.  Instead, it is the opposite.

I think that people with wear and tear issues with their joints have probably had injuries and trauma to the joints, which may not have recovered well or perhaps. people didn't get the rehab or physiotherapy they needed.

Arthritis Foundation says "if we don't use it, we lose it" and I say "if we do use it, we get it back".

Exercise is the best anti-inflammatory there is.  

By the way, we were away for the weekend.  I had access to an indoor heated pool.  I had four sessions in the pool........ah, bliss.   

My sore knee is a LOT better.   I can't wait for the aqua season.

It is the struggle that makes us stronger

 Comfort vs Struggle

Humankind has always sought inactivity, not movement.  We conserve our calories. We take a short cut; we take the lift, not the stairs; we love to get a handy carpark. As well, up until quite recently, calories were hard to come by.  Think, hunter gatherers or subsistence farmers.  Have you ever had to fetch water.   It is heavy. One litre of water is one kilogram.  Some women still have to fetch water every day.   

It is correct, we are predisposed to sit down.  But on the other hand, here is a contradiction, every society has danced.  It is like running, but more fun.  Exercise to music in class is great.  I like to say that the music drowns out the suffering.

Keeping our strength up keeps us young.  As our muscles waste away and we become frailer.  We don't grow old and slow down, we slow down and grow old.   

Where do we find the motivation for exercise.  Daniel Leiberman is his book "Exercised" says we have two choices:- We can make it necessary, or we can make it fun.

Put your head above your body - Habit of the Week

 I am reprising this great habit.   We discussed this in class today.  

For Our Homework,

Let's imagine having a soft weight on top of our heads, like a small beanbag.  Firstly, we must draw up the golden thread, so we have good alignment, and then press the top of your head upwards - imagine that weight up there.  This puts the head and neck in good alignment AND switches on the "core" muscles of the neck.  It should feel pleasant.  If this action hurts, back off a little and straighten up more.

Here is the earlier post with the all-important graphic.  May I say the graphic graphic.  

Our heads are very heavy. Even heavier when we look down. When we have our head forward or buried in a phone, we can't see our periphery very well either.  Mary Bond says watching for the bigger picture improves our posture and helps make us be more creative.   

The Guardian , 25th November 2014 had a great article Homa Khaleeli:- " Tech Neck,  How smart phones are damaging our spines".

We now know that "tech neck" gives us a pad of fat just below the neck, at the back, as well as the headaches and back aches between the shoulder blades. Head forward posture is the gift/torment that keeps on giving.  No thanks.

Here's the graphic from the article:- sorry about the pounds.

Change of season - Catch up

 Spring has arrived.  We are still experiencing cool nights AND days.

I understand that Mr. Putin is closing the gas pipeline, altogether for a while.  This has implications for food production, world-wide. I am expecting prices of food and fertilizer to increase. So, after a bad year in the garden,  I am cranking up the veggie patch just to spite Vlad. I am planting corn and cucumber, lettuce and kale.  I am thinking about potatoes.  

Speaking of food.  Strawberries are at their peak.  I drive past miles and miles of strawberry farms on the way to Brisbane.

I am reading "Exercised" by Daniel Lieberman.  He is an anthropologist, as well as an exercise physiologist professor at Harvard.  He explains our predisposition to inactivity - don't call it laziness.  Humanity has always conserved as much energy as possible.  So we are programmed to sit down. He sets out the benefits of exercise in evolutionary terms. 

For example, he says exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.  So exercise helps to ease the inflammation of modern stress.   I like it.

I am cooking "flavour bomb" vegetable dishes.  I like Yotam Ottelenghi's Cauliflower in Chilli Butter.  Wowie!  I am freezing cooked pumpkin.  I will turn it into pumpkin pie, ultimately.

I am enjoying "My Brilliant Friend" on TV  - A famous Italian novel by Elena Ferrente - it is on SBS

This would be a great time to join our choir.  We are turning the page and starting a new programme for Christmas, as well, we are learning the Messiah, for a very exciting production.  

We are going camping in Stanthorpe.  Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to have some cheerul walks in nature. Wish me luck.

I love exercising together with class members.  I have lots of new songs, which are fun.  I try them out with the grandchildren.  

Tuesday Class - Sandgate Town Hall, 10.00am

Monday 8.30am on line

Wednesday 9.00am on line.

Just email me for details.  It is so much fun,

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