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Category: Health and Wellness

Winter Cold And Flu Season Is Upon Us

So I got sick with a cold this week, and here’s what I learned.

  1. CHECK IN with my mental and physical state
  2. I have all the love and support I need
  3. Sometimes rest is best

First of all I don’t always base my decisions on reality. I spent two days going “Ok just a runny nose, no need to panic or change your schedule in any way, proceed as planned”. Then on day three, after a less than great night of sleep, I realized that I did in fact have a cold, and I cancelled all my appointments. This meant calling/ emailing/ texting 9 ladies who were planing on coming to classes, or getting a massage. One of my biggest fears is that my clients view me as flaky or unreliable. The first client answered the phone with “well this is a rare occurrence” oh thank god. After checking in with everyone (several of my ladies offered to bring me soup – they are so good to me!) I thought I was in the clear. Then around 10:15 I heard a knock on my door. Uh oh one of my ladies didn’t get the memo. She was totally understanding and we talked about the colds/ flus going around.

I also tend to ignore symptoms that I may be feeling a little run down. I blame my mother for this. We used to joke that you had to be bleeding from the head before she took you to the hospital. When I was in middle school we went to the science museum. I reached in the back of the station wagon just as she was lowering the door (and just after she shouted “hands clear!”) and the metal piece in the center of the door popped me right on top of my noggin. I looked like an extra from a horror move with the blood running down my face. I was actually bleeding from the head and we were ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HOSPITAL and Claire just shrugged, grabbed a towel, and held it on my head til it stopped. Then she got out the peanut butter sandwiches and we all had lunch. End of story. Now this was in the 80’s when seat belts were a suggestion, smoking was allowed in restaurants, and we mostly played out doors, where my favorite activity was climbing trees. To be clear, I tell this story to illustrate our family’s “suck it up” attitude towards illness/ injury. My mother was in no way neglectful. Hi mom 🙂

As I pondered the question of “why is it so hard for me to cancel appointments” I realized that after suffering severe physical pain from both Endometriosis and various back issues over the past 20 years, I had gotten into the mindset of saving up my sick days for when I literally could not get out of bed. A little sniffle, or sore throat? Gargle and get out there girl! No matter that I may be exposing my clients to germs, or missing out on some much needed rest. “But you will disappoint people” says the monkey in my brain. Yep maybe you will. Or maybe they will say “hey look at Anne doing a good job taking care of herself”. So I rested for two days, my symptoms abated, and I was able to get back to work.

One of the first questions I ask my clients when they walk in the door is “how is your physical state/ mental state?” This helps me to decide where to take our program that day to best meet their needs. This year, to keep everybody healthy and happy, I will do better job of asking myself these questions, then responding in a way that is loving and supportive to Anne.

How about you?

  • How you doing with self care?
  • What about asking for help?
  • How does it feel to be vulnerable (yikes!)?
  • Do you have a monkey that lives in your brain?
  • What are his or her favorite stories?
  • Are these stories working for you?

Shoot me an email with your best self care strategies. I am here to support you, let me know if you’d like help treating yourself like the star that you are.

Anne McCranie is a Portland, Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She loves helping her clients tame their inner monkeys!

The December Five

Each month Fluid Movement + Massage offers five exercises to build strength and increase flexibility.

Want a personal demo for these moves? Join one of Fluid’s weekly classes or call Anne to schedule a one on one session. (503) 705-4762.

The December Five are complicated multi-joint moves that require strength, balance, and coordination. These should feel challenging, but not painful. Please use your best judgement as to whether these are suitable for you right now. Shoot for one minute of each of these moves moving at your own pace.

 

Big Twist

Open Leg Rocker

Single Leg Dead lift

Crow

Bow

Three Ways To Stop A Cold Before It Starts

It’s that time of year again, cold and flu season. If you have kids, your family may have already had the pleasure of hosting whatever is going around. Yuck! Exposure to germs is unavoidable, but with proper self care (including frequent hand washing, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, getting plenty of exercise and getting plenty of rest) you may be able to limit the frequency and severity of an illness. The next time you feel a tickle in your throat, go on the offensive with these three tips:

1. Hydrate hydrate hydrate!

The often quoted recommendation is half your body weight in ounces. Drinking plenty of water, tea, or juice will help to thin mucus so your body can more effectively eliminate it.

2. Gargle

Dissolve a large spoonful of sea salt in a mug of warm water and gargle at least three times a day. This will help flush viruses from your throat. If you have a neti pot or saline nasal spray, flushing your sinuses will help to clear mucus and bacteria, and speed recovery.

3. Rest

Stay home and rest! If you must work, go in for a half day, wrap up any important tasks that absolutely must get done that day, and stay away from your coworkers (the first 48 hours of a cold is when you are most contagious), then go home and go to bed. If your dry throat is keeping you up, try taking a spoonful of honey. This coats your throat and has antimicrobial properties.

 

Anne McCranie is a Portland based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She offers these tips to keep you feeling your best. Please see your medical professional for specific health advice.

The November Five

1) Half Roll Back w/ Twist:

2) Leg Pull Front:

3) Digging Trenches:

4) Reverse Warrior:

5) Eagle:

These photos are meant to remind you of moves we have done together. None of this should hurt. If you feel pain doing any of these, stop immediately, and modify your movements so that you are not in pain. Please see your medical professional prior to beginning a new exercise program. To see these in person, contact Anne to schedule a one on one session or join an ongoing class.

The October Five For Spine Mobility, Core Strength, And Shoulder Stabilization

This month’s Five include Pilates and yoga exercises to strengthen your core, shoulders, and back, improve your balance, and stretch your quads and hip flexors. Especially useful if you sit at a desk most of the day. Want to see these in person? Join an ongoing class or call Anne to schedule a one on one.

King Arthur

  • Start in a low lunge with right knee on the ground (pad your knee with a towel or yoga pad if needed).
  • Stack left knee over your ankle, and make sure hips are level and facing forward.
  • Lift left arm up and over into a slight back bend/ side bend
  • Psoas stretch, balance.

 

Lion Drinking

  • From hands and knees.
  • Bend your elbows straight back towards your ribs as you move the top of your head forward.
  • Straighten arms to come back to cener.
  • Core strength, shoudler stabilization, tricep strength.

 

Thread Needle

  • Hands and knees.
  • Reach right arm out to the side, then slide right arm under your torso, stretching your mid-back.
  • Spine twist, chest stretch, core strength, shoulder stabilization.

 

Roll up

  • From seated, round your back and reach your head towards your knees. Relax your shoudlers.
  • Start to roll back onto the ground. Stop before you feel pain or tightness in your back, and roll back up to seated (imagine you have passed out and are lazily dropping back to the floor).
  • Eventually you will roll all the way back onto the floor, and back up to seated without tensing your neck or back.
  • Core strength, shoudler stabilization, spine flexibility.

 

Dancer (shown above)

  • Stand on your left leg.
  • Grab your right foot with your right hand. gently pull your heel towards your bum.
  • If you can keep your hips level, and both hips facing forward try drawing your foot back behind your hip.
  • Standing balance, quad stretch, shoulder stretch.

 

These five exercises are meant to remind you of the work we have done together. Please see your medical professional prior to beginning a new exercise program.