anne - Fluid Movement + Massage

Hike With Us Saturday July 25th, 2015

July 23, 2015July 3, 2025anne

Check out this recent New York Times article about how walking in nature positively affects your brain. Want to reduce anxiety, sleep better, and improve your mood? Join us for our next hike is this Saturday July 25th. Location to be determined. We will head out around 1:30 or 2 to a location close to Portland for a few hours. Expect to be back to town around 6 pm.

Anne McCranie is a Portland, Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She loves sharing her favorite Portland area hikes with you. No experience necessary. Please take full responsibility for yourself and your fitness level/ hiking abilities. You are encouraged to bring your own water, snacks and the “hikers ten“. Call Anne for details. (503) 705-4762.

Mini Key Lime Pies (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015anne

Key lime pie is the official pie of Florida. No, really, as in a bill passed by the legislature in 2006.

Growing up in Florida I ate my fair share of key lime pie. My grandmother (AKA Nannie) made killer deserts and her key lime pie was to die for. My uncle Bob has a key lime tree in his yard. He would often come over to Nannie’s house with a bowl of limes and a hopeful look on his face and she would quickly turn the limes into a delicious pie.

For you non-Floridians real key lime pie is not bright green by the way, it is pale yellow. Key limes are small, about half the size of the Persian limes you find in the grocery store, with a more subtle flavor. If you can’t locate them “regular” limes will still make a yummy, if slightly less authentic pie. If you want to know the truth when I am out of fresh limes (or too lazy to squeeze) I use this brand of bottled key lime juice for pies, and when making margaritas.

“Traditional” key lime pie is made from sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice baked into a graham cracker crust. It may be served plain or topped with a little whipped cream (but definitely NOT meringue for crying out loud!). This according to the gospel of Anne.

The origins of this delicacy are widely debated, but most key lime pie scholars point to sponge fishermen in the Florida keys in the late 1800’s. These fishermen, often out to sea for long periods without refrigeration, combined sweetened condensed milk, local key limes and eggs. The acid in the lime juice “cooked” the eggs (like seafood in ceviche) and the pie could sit out at room temperature without spoiling.

Recently I was invited to dinner with a friend who is on a restricted diet (no gluten or dairy) so I tried this recipe and it was a huge hit! I made two batches of mini pies, one with a traditional graham cracker crust, and one with shredded coconut. I preferred the coconut crust so I am including that recipe here. Switch out the butter in the crust for Earth Balance and your pie will be gluten free and dairy free. While not traditional, this recipe is the perfect not too sweet summer treat.

Frozen Key Lime Pie Minis:

Crust:

1 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup key lime juice plus 1 Tbsp lime zest
1/2 cup agave

Directions:

Soak your cashews the night before (or if you are short on time pour hot water over them, let sit for an hour then drain and use).
Heat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with baking cups. In a food processor blend coconut with melted butter. Press mixture into prepared tins. Bake for ten minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Add filling ingredients (reserving some of the lime zest for topping) to a blender and blend on high until smooth. This will take a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust for tartness/ sweetness (this recipe is not overly sweet so add a bit more agave for sweetness, or more lime juice to make it more tart).
Pour filling into tins and tap on counter to release air bubbles. Top with the remaining lime zest and loosely cover with saran.
Freeze for 2-4 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer ten minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Anne McCranie is a Portland, (Sellwood) Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. Anne’s healthy diet includes natural whole foods, primarily veggies, fruit and protein. Anne consumes full fat dairy including yogurt, grass fed butter (yes butter!) and coconut oil on a daily basis. She offers this recipe to tickle your taste buds. Please see your health care practitioner for specific dietary advice.

Steigerwald Lake Hike Saturday June 13th, 2015

June 11, 2015July 1, 2025anne

Join us for our first hike of the season this Saturday June 13th at noon.

I have been loving this warm weather! My summer goal is to spend as much time outdoors as possible. At least once a month I am organizing a group hike. These will start close to home with short, 3-4 mile flat strolls and we will work our way up to longer and more difficult hikes. We start this weekend at Steigerwald Lake Wildlife Refuge. This will be my first time to this area, and from what I’ve heard we are in for a treat. This flat, easy trail along the water is a short drive from Portland and a good spot for birding with views of the Columbia.

We will be leaving Sellwood around noon. You are welcome to carpool with us or drive yourself. Plan to be gone from noon to 5 pm. Please bring water and a snack for yourself. Also wear or bring clothes and shoes that can get wet. Depending on the weather we may stop for a dip along the way.

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood), Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She offers weekly Pilates and yoga classes and seasonal outdoor workouts.

Mother’s Day Massage Special Gift – Whipped Body Butter

May 4, 2015May 4, 2015anne

Love your Mother! Treat her to some TLC with Anne.

Mother’s Day is Sunday May 10th and Anne has a deal for you! Purchase a seventy five minute massage gift card for Mom before May 10th and receive a complimentary jar of Fluid’s hand made whipped body butter.

Which part of Mom’s massage experience do you think she will love the most – relaxing on a warm massage table, hands being warmed in the hand warmers, feeling her tight muscles coaxed into relaxation, experiencing seventy five minutes with no one asking her questions…

Forget the flowers and treat Mom to a massage!

Here is a photo of me and my mom from her recent visit to Portland. Love you mom!

Anne offers a combination of craniosacral and Swedish massage. This is a relaxing technique used to relieve stress, headaches, and tight muscles. To schedule online click the “schedule an appointment” button to the right ->. Gift cards must be purchased by May 10th to receive complimentary body butter.

The April Five Exercises – What Can Go Wrong In Warrior II

April 9, 2015July 3, 2025anne

This month’s five include standing balance, core strength, upper body strength and flexibility work and a coordination exercise.

Warrior II is one of my favorites. It strengthens and stretches your legs, hips and glutes, opens your shoulders and strengthens your arms and back. It also improves standing balance and mental focus. If you suffer from hip tightness, knee pain or balance issues keep reading, I’m breaking down the Warrior so you will know what to do (and what not to do) when trying this move at home.

This exercise list is meant to jog your memory about the moves we have done together as a team. For more detailed descriptions of the exercises click here.

The April Five:

1) Warrior II – side lunge with front knee bent, back knee straight

2) Leg Pull Back – reverse plank with leg lift

3) Swan Dive – roll down the front side of your body with control

4) Double Leg Kick – kick both heels to your bum, then extend arms, legs, and back

5) Rolling Like A Ball – rolling on your back with control

Now back to the Warrior II:

Yoga Journal’s description of the pose:

Virabhadra = the name of a fierce warrior, an incarnation of Shiva, described as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, wielding a thousand clubs, and wearing a tiger’s skin

Got an important meeting today? Asking for a raise, or negotiating a contract? Start your day with one minute of this pose and notice what happens to your physical, emotional and mental state. Roaring like a tiger is optional.

Stand at the top of your mat, step left foot back and press left heel firmly into the mat.
Stack your shoulders over your hips (hips and shoulders face the side wall) and reach arms out to the side.
Bend your front knee and stack it over your ankle, as if your knee were looking out over your front toes.
Hold for one minute then switch sides.

Balance issues:

Looking to improve your balance? Warrior is the perfect pose for you. Since both feet are on the ground this pose is more accessible starting point that say your Tree or Eagle.

Try this:

Stand near a wall. If you rest your whole back along the wall you will feel more secure and be able to feel your spine in neutral, and your shoulders stacked over your hips. Slowly and carefully work towards bringing both arms back to touch the wall, as well as the outside of your front leg, and most of your back, shoulders and hips. Not even close? Start with your feet a few inches away from the wall and rest the right side of your back, your right hip and your right arm on the wall. Keep arms in line with your shoulders and your front knee over your ankle.

Mind your feet. How often do you pay attention to your feet? Imagine a skinny cross country ski, now imagine a wide snow shoe. Guess which one is more stable?

Try This:

Spread your toes. Stand with your feet hip distance apart and look down at your feet. Can you spread your toes so that you see space between each toe? Use your fingers to spread them apart and flatten each toe if you need to. Now imagine your foot as multiple tree roots, your big toe tap root is pressing down and away from you, as is your pinkie toe knuckle, and both sides of your outer heel. As your roots press down imagine a gentle lift under your arch. Now keep your front foot in this position and step your left foot back into your lunge. Notice any difference?

Knee Pain:

If this pose causes knee pain stop immediately, asses your alignment and start over. None of these exercises should hurt. In fact pain is a signal from your body that something it wrong. Listen.

The number one correction I give in this pose is “move your knee so that it is stacked directly over your ankle”. Look down, do you have a wandering knee? Often this is not actually a knee issue, but a hip issue. My runners, cyclists and desk jockeys often suffer from tight hips. In this pose you are asking your front leg to externally rotate in your hip socket to allow your knee to open enough to line up with your toe.

For you today this might mean that your hips are facing more forward than to the side. Remember we are working our way into a deeper version of this pose and really there is no “perfect” pose.

Try this:

Track your knee. Stand in your Warrior II. Slowly bend and straighten your front knee. Look down to see that your kneecap is tracking right over your ankle, or middle toes, as if it were looking towards the front wall. If your knee tends to roll in towards your big toe, slowly guide it more towards your pinkie toe. This may take some time and you will feel different muscles in your hip working so go easy.

Shoulder pain/ tightness:

Warrior II is an excellent shoulder opener. Most of us spend a large portion of the day with our head and shoulders in a forward position, hunched over the computer, the steering wheel, the phone… Those of us with tight shoulders may find it challenging (or impossible) to bring arms straight out to the side without hunching our upper back and shoulders, or thrusting our heads forward.

Try this:

Hug a ball. Stand up tall, bring your arms slightly in front of your shoulders with palms facing forward and and imagine hugging a giant beach ball in front of you. Gently roll your shoulders up, down and back. Now flip your palms down. This is your starting point if you have shoulder issues – arms slightly in front of your shoulders. Again we are slowly and gently working our arms back in line with our shoulders. Your chest, upper back and ribs will feel nice and open here and you will be able to take a full inhale and exhale.

Holding your breath:

Ever notice how (or if) you are breathing throughout the day? Holding your breath during exercise can cause changes in your blood pressure that may leave you feeling lightheaded. By taking slow full breaths you send more oxygen to your muscles and calm your nervous system.

Try this:

Breath awareness. Take a moment in this pose and focus on your breath. As you inhale imagine your arches floating up, your pelvic floor lifting (mula bandha) and the top of your head floating up. As you exhale reach strong through your arms and fingers, down through your legs and feet and allow your chest and back to widen.

I would love to hear what tips you have for a successful Warrior II. Leave me a comment below…

Anne McCranie is a Portland, Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She offers these tips for a successful home yoga program. Please see your medical professional for specific advice before you begin a new exercise program. Questions? Call Anne (503) 705-4762.