Exploring the art of creative expression through movement
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
November 2017 Pole Dancing and Fitness Challenges
Fall in love with fitness this November as the days grow colder here in the Northern Hemisphere (or Spring into fitness in the Southern half of the world!) 😉 Below are the current challenges available via Instagram or online.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Static Trapeze
I recently decided to start working with a new apparatus, the static trapeze. I hadn't ever been exposed to the static trapeze until I started my current teaching position at Cirque Indy. It started out as a flirtation really. I walked by the trapeze, eventually I touched the trapeze, then I sat on the trapeze. Before I knew it, I was mounting and performing moves in the trapeze. I'm taking things slowly and working on building confidence and aerial awareness in this new to me apparatus. I'm getting that excited newly discovered feeling all over again- one I felt nine years ago when I first touch a pole and recounted again and again with the silks and lyra. It's a happy feeling to be excited and driven to explore a new apparatus. It's the feeling that keeps an aerialist coming back for more. I'm hoping to explore more of this apparatus and share my journey here on my blog. So as they say in show business, stay tuned for more!
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Benefits of Castor Oil Packs for Healthy Living
Over the past couple years I had heard about castor oil packs and being beneficial for women's health issues. I'd never thought to try them out until recently as I've increasingly been under suspicion of Endometriosis. I've dealt with very painful menstrual cycles for at least the last five years. I'd never really had painful menstrual cycles or any abnormalities related to my reproductive health until about five or six years ago when there was a sudden and abrupt change in my cycles. The change coincided with my stopping hormonal birth control. I decided I wanted to cleanse my body of unnecessary medications. I felt like being on hormones was not a healthy or natural state for my body and the medications may be contributing to some of the issues I was experiencing as my thyroid function was deteriorating. I sought out other means for birth control and discovered the Fertility Awareness Method, which is a natural form of birth control based on a woman's menstrual cycle. It requires a lot of research, learning, and commitment to tracking your monthly cycles by taking your temperature once a day upon waking and charting some very fundamental factors throughout the month. It can be overwhelming in the beginning but absolutely worth it. The amount of information women's bodies are capable of relating when you know how to interpret the information is amazing. I wish every woman was educated in having to learn about FAM. It amazes me when I meet women and they know very little about their own bodies. If you're interested in learning more about FAM, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. This is seriously the holy grail of FAM books. Charting has also been made easier in the digital age with the wonderful use of apps. I use Kindara for my own charting. I even have the Kindara Wink thermometer which automatically downloads my temps into the app. I've been using the Wink thermometer for about a week and a half and will plan to write a review on it in the near future.
So in the world of FAM, castor oil packs (COPs) are very widely discussed as being beneficial to women's health. Castor Oil is derived from castor seed. It has a long history of medicinal healing uses. The COP is used as a topical therapy. You can easily purchase a kit on Amazon that includes all the necessary items to create your pack. To use a pack, you can go the less messy route by applying the oil directly to the desired area of your body and then covering with the flannel cloth, then plastic covering, then a heating pad. The oil can stain so it's stressed to take precautions so as not to get the oil all over anything you don't want ruined. The oil is also thick and sticky like honey. You can easily get a little silicone kitchen brush from the local store to aid in spreading the oil over the desired area of your body. GLAD also sells plastic cling wrap which would work perfectly to seal the flannel cloth so the oil does not stain your heating pad.
So, I decided to give a Castor Oil Pack a try to see if I personally notice any of the benefits that are widely claimed. Within 5-10 minutes of my first session, I needed to have a bowel movement. I marked that as being successful and I'm a quick responder. I have recently gone low carb with my meals so if you're also a low carb patron, then you know if you have any carb binges that things in the intestinal area tend to slow down. Like a dietary punch to the gut. A few days prior to using the COP and the day of, I had indulged in some high carb food items. I was feeling bloated and just the general carb fatigue. My COP fixed things right up. I'm going to work my way up to the one hour increments and use the packs three times a week. In addition to using the pack, I plan on incorporating my Bed of Nails acupressure mat for total relaxation. I'm still using the Bed of Nail sporadically to help with sleep. For more information on the Bed of Nails, read my blog post: "Acupressure Bed of Nails for Pole Dancers and Aerialists?"
After all these great claims and my quick response, I decided to sit down and write out this blog. I did a little research as I wanted to know more about the claims of COPs and some of the skepticism. I came across a couple studies conducted that actually support the beneficial claims. One was conducted in two nursing homes on elderly patients in Manisa, Turkey (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21168117). The study's focus was on aiding in alleviating constipation. The study concluded that the COPs decreased symptoms associated with constipation and may be used for controlling the symptoms of constipation. While there are many claims benefits of COPs, below I've listed a few I have found online:
So in the world of FAM, castor oil packs (COPs) are very widely discussed as being beneficial to women's health. Castor Oil is derived from castor seed. It has a long history of medicinal healing uses. The COP is used as a topical therapy. You can easily purchase a kit on Amazon that includes all the necessary items to create your pack. To use a pack, you can go the less messy route by applying the oil directly to the desired area of your body and then covering with the flannel cloth, then plastic covering, then a heating pad. The oil can stain so it's stressed to take precautions so as not to get the oil all over anything you don't want ruined. The oil is also thick and sticky like honey. You can easily get a little silicone kitchen brush from the local store to aid in spreading the oil over the desired area of your body. GLAD also sells plastic cling wrap which would work perfectly to seal the flannel cloth so the oil does not stain your heating pad.
So, I decided to give a Castor Oil Pack a try to see if I personally notice any of the benefits that are widely claimed. Within 5-10 minutes of my first session, I needed to have a bowel movement. I marked that as being successful and I'm a quick responder. I have recently gone low carb with my meals so if you're also a low carb patron, then you know if you have any carb binges that things in the intestinal area tend to slow down. Like a dietary punch to the gut. A few days prior to using the COP and the day of, I had indulged in some high carb food items. I was feeling bloated and just the general carb fatigue. My COP fixed things right up. I'm going to work my way up to the one hour increments and use the packs three times a week. In addition to using the pack, I plan on incorporating my Bed of Nails acupressure mat for total relaxation. I'm still using the Bed of Nail sporadically to help with sleep. For more information on the Bed of Nails, read my blog post: "Acupressure Bed of Nails for Pole Dancers and Aerialists?"
After all these great claims and my quick response, I decided to sit down and write out this blog. I did a little research as I wanted to know more about the claims of COPs and some of the skepticism. I came across a couple studies conducted that actually support the beneficial claims. One was conducted in two nursing homes on elderly patients in Manisa, Turkey (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21168117). The study's focus was on aiding in alleviating constipation. The study concluded that the COPs decreased symptoms associated with constipation and may be used for controlling the symptoms of constipation. While there are many claims benefits of COPs, below I've listed a few I have found online:
- Improves immune function
- Boosts circulation
- Helps balance hormones
- Heals dry, irritated, sunburned, acne prone skin
- Relieves constipation
- Helps grow hair
- Relieves joint pain
- Supports ovary and uterine health
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Stability Ball Chair for the Office
My office desk chair disappeared over the summer while my clinic flooring was being waxed. So as I started off the new school year in the health clinic, I spent the first week on a stability ball that was part of a healthy initiative a couple years ago where students were given in place of regular chairs. I really liked the use of a stability ball in place of a regular office chair. The only issue I had was the frequent need to scoot away and stand when attending to my patients. I found my ball rolling away or not being in the position that was conducive to working. I did a little research online and found stability ball chairs with wheels. After much consideration, I went ahead and ordered another stability ball with it's wheel base. (It seems buying just the base is nearly impossible unless you want to spend an unreasonable high price). Once my fitball chair arrived, I took the current stability ball I had been using at my desk and placed it into the chair base. My current ball was a little on the tall side so I ended up pumping up the ball that came with the base.
Since using the fitball chair, I haven't experienced the typical hip pains associated with long sitting in an office chair. My back also feels better throughout the day. I'm able to lean side to side or in different positions for frequent stretching throughout my work day. I'm not really a bouncy person so I don't typically bounce on the chair all that often. Fitball chairs claim to build a healthier back, align the spine, relieve pain, and improve overall well being. While I agree with some of the claims, I also found that certain desk modifications can add to the benefits of any office chair scenario such as raising or lowering your computer monitor to allow proper alignment of your back and neck at eye level.
Some major considerations for my fitball chair purchase were whether or not I'd need the back support for my chair. I opted to order the backless version as I didn't see the benefit of the chair back when I didn't see myself sitting far back enough to make use of it. I also wanted to make sure the chair could be used with my desk cycle. (For more information about the Desk Cycle, read my Desk Cycle for Your Sedentary Work Day.) I had to test out whether the Desk Cycle worked with the fitball chair once I got my chair delivered. I did a test run at home with the Desk Cycle and found it worked perfectly.
I've been using the fitball chair for a month. I am able to use my Desk Cycle without any issues. I've also found myself engaging my abdominal muscles for little workouts throughout the day. I do have to make sure that I don't slouch and round my shoulders. This has been the cause of major neck and upper back pain. I may need to elevate my laptop computer so this will no longer be a problem. I have plenty of nursing care plan books that I'm not using in my clinic so I think I will need to play around with those to see if that is truly the issue with my posture. Overall, I'm really loving the chair alternative.
Since using the fitball chair, I haven't experienced the typical hip pains associated with long sitting in an office chair. My back also feels better throughout the day. I'm able to lean side to side or in different positions for frequent stretching throughout my work day. I'm not really a bouncy person so I don't typically bounce on the chair all that often. Fitball chairs claim to build a healthier back, align the spine, relieve pain, and improve overall well being. While I agree with some of the claims, I also found that certain desk modifications can add to the benefits of any office chair scenario such as raising or lowering your computer monitor to allow proper alignment of your back and neck at eye level.
Some major considerations for my fitball chair purchase were whether or not I'd need the back support for my chair. I opted to order the backless version as I didn't see the benefit of the chair back when I didn't see myself sitting far back enough to make use of it. I also wanted to make sure the chair could be used with my desk cycle. (For more information about the Desk Cycle, read my Desk Cycle for Your Sedentary Work Day.) I had to test out whether the Desk Cycle worked with the fitball chair once I got my chair delivered. I did a test run at home with the Desk Cycle and found it worked perfectly.
I've been using the fitball chair for a month. I am able to use my Desk Cycle without any issues. I've also found myself engaging my abdominal muscles for little workouts throughout the day. I do have to make sure that I don't slouch and round my shoulders. This has been the cause of major neck and upper back pain. I may need to elevate my laptop computer so this will no longer be a problem. I have plenty of nursing care plan books that I'm not using in my clinic so I think I will need to play around with those to see if that is truly the issue with my posture. Overall, I'm really loving the chair alternative.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
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