Monday Moves: There is no place like the finish line

I got to cheer on my friend Bronwen last weekend as she ran her second1/2 marathon.  She did a great job and tore 20 minutes off her last time, claiming a new personal record.  Great job, B.!

That being said, I'm going to wind down this series of Monday Moves dedicated to the female long distance runner.  Next week, we will start a whole new series of Monday Moves!  But before we move on, I wanted to stress the importance of cross training.  Our bodies are only meant for so much pounding, so once you've met that goal or finished your race, it is a great idea to change up your exercise routine.  You don't even have to wait till the end of your training to add in some cross training. Runners can choose from a wide variety of cross training options - weight training, swimming, cycling, and yoga are all good options.

If you step into any yoga class you will most likely be asked to perform the asana (or pose) Downward Facing Dog. This pose is great for decompressing the spine and opening the shoulders.  It can also be a helpful pose for stretching the hamstrings, but this benefit is further down the list and there are other asanas that can target those hamstring muscles in a more beneficial way.  Now let's get going.

Start out on your hands and knees.  Widen your hands so that both pinkies touch the outside edge of your mat.  On the next exhale, lift your knees away from the floor.  Feel free to keep your knees bent and your heels lifted off the floor.  Begin to shift your attention to the bones that you sit on when you are sitting in the criss-cross apple sauce position.  We call these sit bones in yoga.  They're anatomy name is actually the ischial tuberosities.  So think about lifting these sit bones up to the ceiling and back to the wall behind you.  If you have tighter hamstrings, you  can keep your knees bent.  Remember, we are not as concerned here about stretching the hamstrings.  We are more concerned about lengthening your spine in this mildly inverted position.

Your grounding comes from your the palm of each hand.  You can even think of your palms like a suction cups or plungers, pushing the earth away from your palms.  Lengthen through the arm pits, keeping the shoulder blades firm on your back.  Continue to keep your abdominals firm.  Take 3 to 5 breaths here.

These are some of the basic instructions for Downward Facing Dog.  I'm sure there will be more Monday Moves dedicated to this one if the future.  There are so many more aspects of this asana that  we can uncover.

Signpost #4: The bare essentials

So many of my clinics in PNG took place under a tree.  I loved this way of life.  The bare essentials that I took with me to my work day were my yoga mat and the physio bag.  The physio bag had a couple therabands, patient registration sheets, a pen (on a good day) and the exercise handout for back and knee pain.  It's not that I am against technology.  Electronic medical record systems are wonderful.  With these digital records, all you have to do is type the patient's first and last name into the box on your monitor and WALAH - there is the record of every clinic visit, x-ray and procedure that the patient has ever had.  It makes the history taking process so easy.  However, I have found that it can be challenging to deliver patient-centered care with a computer right in front of my face.  Sometimes the tools that help me work more efficiently distract me from doing what I  deep down want to do the most.

My fourth signpost from PNG is to remember my bare essentials.  The memory of working under a tree reminds me of this signpost.  I think it is helpful to have seasons in your life where you return to, ponder, and reevaluate the bare essentials of your profession, your life, and your values.  No, I don't think these seasons have to take place on the other side of the world.  But I do think you have to be intentional about setting these times aside.  It is so easy to get distracted.

On my flight to Australia, I was reminded core beliefs when I was reading a chapter in Clayton King's book " Amazing Encounters with God (thanks for this gift, Aunt Laura). The chapter was entitled "Believing Your Beliefs." Basically, it gave a story about a time when it was truly visible that Clayton and his friend were believing and living out their beliefs.  This story got me thinking.  What are my core beliefs?  Am I living those out?  What am I all about?  And what am I not all about?  Shauna Niequist devotes a chapter in her book Bittersweet to the things she doesn't do. She quotes a friend that said:

 "it’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. 

What’s hard, she said, is figuring out what you’re willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about."

I like to refer to myself as overly optimistic.  This is one of those great traits that I can use as a strength and a weakness on a job interview.  Yes, it is great to see the cup as half-full but literally thinking I can do it all leads me to overcommitting myself, fueling up on caffeine and running late.  Throughout my time in PNG, I got to sit on the side of the ship or on some rock overlooking the water and remember what my core beliefs are. Those things that I want to be all about or feel called to be all about.  I started making my list of things I do and things I don't do.  As I looked back over my journal today, I was reminded just how much I don't like thinking about things I don't do.  In my journal that list is still blank. I must have gotten distracted.  I don't usually like to be the one that shuts the door.  If it is open and I don't walk through it that's ok, but I just don't want to close it.  I'm still figuring out why I am wired this way and which way I am supposed to grow.  But I do know that we only have so much time and energy.  Deep down, I don't want to waste any time or any energy.  But I do.  So that's when I return to my bare essentials.  I grab those things I need to hold on to most for this journey.  Those things that will help me know God more and love people better.  We have made so many things that will help us live more efficiently through life.  But are those things distracting me from my bare essentials.  And what am I willing to give up so that I live out my core beliefs in a more illuminated way?

I've still got some work to do on this one.  However, the picture of working under a tree will remind me of how beautiful working with just the bare essentials can be.

What helps you to be reminded of the bare essentials in your life?

How do you remind yourself to live more on those essentials rather than the things that distract us from those essentials?

I Want To Live

I was SOOOOO pumped when I saw on Facebook today that YWAM Townsville just released the 2012 video.  The video reviews the work that has been done in Papua New Guinea over the last 3 years.  I could not wait to post it.  Check out the YWAM website if this clip leaves you hungry for more knowledge about the YWAM Medical Ships.

Signpost #3: The right spot at the right time

I am still recording my signposts that I hope will point me towards "another way of living."  There will be a total of five signposts which are an accumulation of lessons that I learned in Australia and Papua New Guinea this summer.   It has been such a treat to have time to reflect over my experience on the YWAM Medical Ship and time abroad. I hope to not just tuck away these moments and lessons.  I want to have signposts that tell me to "Stop and remember" because now that I am back I have seen how easy it is to get comfortable and to forget.

I can't really wrap up my third signpost into one moment.  It was a string of moments that let me know I was in the right spot at the right time.  Even though I was roaming around Queensland and sailing on uncharted waters of the Bamu River, it seemed like the path was paved for me.  Life can't be filled with these "right spot at the right time" moments because then we would not get to activate the faith muscle near as strenuously.  Skeletal muscles grow when they push harder resistance.  The faith muscle works in a similar way.

I ran across this Psalm before I left Madison.  I remember it caused me to breathe a sigh of relief.  It says, "The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever" (Ps. 138:8).  For some reason I can put extra pressure on myself to fulfill my purpose.  I'm not sure if the Psalmist was at one of those moments where he felt like he was in the right spot or not.   Since earlier in this chapter he reminded himself that God has preserved his life and saved him (vs. 7), I am thinking that he might be starting to doubt God and God's timing.  I really appreciate the way the Psalm ends with the plea - "do not abandon the works of your hands" (vs. 8b) because that prayer is what I feel like saying most often.  But I usually just say or think "God, help."  I think the writer's prayer is much more poetic.   In this Psalms, the writer gives us a good game plan that we can use when we might be tempted to doubt.  He reminds himself what God has done for him, claims the promise he has, and then prays for grace in his uncertainty.

In The Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley speaks about uncertainty.  He says, "Generally speaking, you are probably never going to be more than 80 percent certain.  Waiting for greater certainty may cause you to miss an opportunity."  I typically toss and turn over the next step and want to have one hundred percent certainty.  Mark Batterson sums it up nicely in his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, "There is no such thing as risk-free faith." Getting on the ship  did involve a calculated risk, but I am so thankful I got up the courage to jump off the boat.

As they say, hindsight is 20/20.  God's providence and timing does usually make more sense through the lenses of hindsight as well.  So as I face the uncertainty of the next step, I am so thankful that I can look back on my last season and know that God had me at the right spot at the right time.  He is more than able to fulfill His purpose for me.  Whew.

"Twenty years from now you will be more

 disappointed by the things you didn't do than

by the ones you did do.   So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.  Dream.  Discover."

Mark Twain

Monday Moves: Bridge Exercise

We have had a total of 4 Monday Moves dedicated to the female long distance runner in honor of my friends putting in their mileage for their upcoming half-marathons.  Just a reminder:  these exercises will be great to add into anyone's exercise routine...so don't stop reading if you don't find yourself in this demographic or activity.

We are continuing our focus this week on the core and gluteus with the Bridge Exercise.  This is a common rehab, yoga and pilates exercise.  It is great for activating the your abdominal muscles as well as your gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles.  Activation of the abdominal muscles starts while you are laying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground about should width apart. Push your low back against the floor to initiate the rectus abdominis (your six pack).  Keep this six-pack muscle tight as you lift your hips off the floor.  Feel the straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Push your feet into the ground, as you take several breaths with your hips lifted.

Since it has been around the corner once or twice, there are some common errors that occur when performing this exercise.  First, take cause to not overarch your low back.  Starting with your ab muscles firing by pressing your low back into the ground is helpful in preventing this error.  While your hips are lifted think about knitting your lower ribs into your belly to keep the abdominals engaged.  Also, visualize your low back and back of your lungs expanding while your hips are lifted.  This visualization will help prevent this most common error of hyperextending your low back as you lift your hips.

I like to make this into an endurance exercise by holding the hips lifted position.  Start by holding the position for 3 to 5 breaths.  Repeat 5 to 10 times.  As you get stronger you can hold this position for longer - 5 to 10 breaths.  Also, there are many modifications that you can add on to this exercise for a greater challenge.  Next week we might just discuss the Bridge Exercise further.

Monday Move: Abs of steel

I know.  I know.  I know. Ab exercises are the last thing you want to do especially after a long run or at the beginning of your day.  However, one function of abdominal muscles while running is to stabilize the pelvis while you run; therefore, weak abdominal muscles can lead to a less stable pelvis which could lead to injury further down the chain (i.e. hip and knee pain).  In this Runner's World article, Daniel Cipriani, Ph. D., assistant professor of exercise and science at San Diego State University discussed some great abdominal exercises that runners can add to their abdominal routine.  Dr. Cipriani claims abdominal strength will "better your performance."  I would argue that we are still working on confirming the current hypothetical and theoretical nature of the relationship between strong abdominal muscles and better performance.  This correlation study found that there is a link between abdominal strength and performance but further studies need to be performed to further define this relationship.  Even though the performance link is still being confirmed, there are countless other reasons to include abdominal exercises in your exercise program, especially if you are a female long distance runner.  And since one of my main goals for the day is working on my resume (which I have not started on yet), we will have to go over these countless reasons another day.

I wanted to highlight one of Dr. Cipriani's recommended abdominal exercises today.  The bicycle crunch great for building abdo strength because it not only activates the rectus abdominus (to get a picture of this muscle think of the best six pack you've ever seen) but also the external and internal obliques (to get a picture of these muscles think of a beauty pageant sash as these muscles run at an angle at the sides of your abdomen).

You've seen this one done before and probably is done everyday at your local YMCA.  But here is a review according to Runner's World:

Bicycle Crunch: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and hands on the sides of your head. Contract your abdominal muscles as you bring your knees up to a 45-degree angle. Straighten and bend your knees as you alternate crossing and touching right elbow to left knee, then left elbow to right knee. Do two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions for each leg.

I'm not promising six-pack abs or 30 seconds of your personal best half-marathon time.  But increasing your abdominal strength can help you prevent other running injuries and therefore - keep you running...so don't skip out on this piece of the running puzzle.

Signpost #2: Made for community

I went to the Oceania Region on a solo mission, but I found community every where I explored.  When I met a fellow wwoofer that was using her wwoofing experience to blog about "community" this inspired me to keep a special eye open to the different types of communities I found.  Whether I was at Kanjini Co-op or on the medical ship or at a random hostel on the Sunshine Coast, people were living in community.

I found that having a common vision is the foundation of a solid community and motivates the community during tough times.  Since Shiralee and Svargo, the founders of the Kanjini Cooperative, were in the process of developing and growing their cooperative living community, I decided to ask Shiralee what she thought community was.  She explained community involved coming together with a common vision.  The Kanjini community vision focused on sustainability (see Sustainability post from July 14th). The sustainable community that was being developed at Kanjini definitely inspired me, but my ever-growing definition of community got rocked when I heard Ken, the director of YWAM Townsville, speak at their family meeting.  He explained that the goal of this community is not just community for community sake but the vision of this place was to know God and to make Him known.  During this family meeting, the YWAM Medical Ship was experiencing a defining moment as they were about to launch their first outreach into the Western Province of PNG.  Their vision was propelling their community towards new places and meant pushing through obstacles that they encountered along the way.

While I talked with some of the ladies that were on staff with YWAM and living on base, they spoke about the benefits of living in a community.  They expressed the support that comes with community being a huge benefit.  Yesterday I heard Bob Goff speak and he painted an excellent picture of this type of support that we are called to give each other in the local church.  He explained that when his pastor found out his 8 year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia - the church did not just pray for him and lay hands on him, but literally lifted him up by crowd surfing him as they prayed for him.  Community living definitely requires lifting one another up and "bearing each others burdens."

While on the medical ship, I was submurged into community living.  This time spent living with 50 other people sharing meals and tasks and (when I was really lucky) french presses and chocolate reminded me why I am made for community.  Community living forces me to grow.  At one point I said, "Ship life is like camp life" and those campy memories are definitely what shine in my memory.  Having a common vision that you are working towards and having a group of people that can help lift each other up during times of need is definitely a huge aspect of community.  Those warm fuzzy aspects of community are what I love about community, but it is not always those attributes about community that cause me to grow.  Community living in my life can be a microenvironment that illuminates my real, deep junk.  You can't really fake it when you are living around people who see you all the time - in the good and bad moments.  And since I don't want to fake it but sometimes I do fake it - I need an environment that helps transform my old patterns and tendencies to fake it.  When I was honest with myself during those quiet moments on the ship, I saw that I still want to return to a baby mindset that believes life revolves around me while Christ's example was all about self-forgetfulness.  In "The Hiding Place" Corrie ten Boone found community even in prison.  And while living in this community, she not only found a further depth of her sin but also a freedom in telling the truth about herself.  I really appreciated this story that Corrie shared because I think it exposed a huge aspect of community that can be left out of community living as it doesn't always bring an immediate warm, fuzzy feeling.  Corrie found that when she told the truth about herself to her community, "a real joy returned to my worship."  Community can provide a place where we can confess to one another our weaknesses and take off our masks.  In my past, this has always made me uncomfortable but it has always caused growth.  So even though I love going off on adventures and need space for a simple life, I also need community to help me grow.

Monday Moves: The Foam Roller

As you recall from the last Monday Move post, I'm dedicating these next few movement moments to the female distance runner.  However, these exercises could definitely be beneficial for anyone.  One of my favorite tools is the foam roller.  It is a handy device that helps perform soft tissue release. Here is a video that will help you get started.

Signposts

On Thursday, I put our yard sale sign in our front yard.  It was definitely a homemade sign.  One side I used neon green poster paper and on the other side white.  Since I posted each poster paper on each side of our "Keep Christ in Christmas" front yard sign, some red also poked through on the corners.  Our markers kept running out of ink - some of them probably dated back to the 90s -  so I had to use multiple colors. Yep, it was a pretty ghetto sign.  But it got the job done.  It caused enough attention to distract people from their daily commute to announce to them about the yard sale.  Even though we had an advertisement in the Dawson News, the sign was a reminder.

Signposts make people remember something important. In Gift of the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh recorded her "signposts toward another way of living."  Her personal beach retreat gave her time to "become more aware of" a sense of values that she wanted to incorporate into her life when she returned to her hometown in Connecticut.  I have already noticed how easy it is to slip back into your same old busy routine.  After a summer like mine, that's the last thing I want to do.  So I thought it might be helpful for me to post some signposts of my own.

Signpost #1:  The simple life requires space.  One of my favorite parts of serving on the YWAM Medical Ship was the quiet time on the ship.  Living on a ship with 50 other people can be somewhat cramped.  While I loved meeting people from all over the world and hearing there stories, my introverted side desired time away from everyone as well.  The best time to find a nook or crannie away from everyone was typically in the morning.  This space in the morning to be alone with God as the sun came up over the natural PNG scenery was unbeatable.  No, I never heard an audible voice from God during that time.  Yes, my mind often had to be reined back to the real world and away from my daydreaming.  But as I look back over my time on the ship, I know I will always cherish those still beginnings to the day.