Learning to Thrive
How do you use simple household tools to help you improve your balance, your strength and your stamina as we move towards being a “goldener”? Along with eating as healthy and balanced as possible with a rainbow of colors on our plate, there are many other pieces to this graceful slide from shimmer to golden. I am going to add a hint each week from the book I am currently studying Dynamic Aging: Simple Exercises for Whole-Body Mobility by Katy Bowman. I mentioned that I had ordered the book on the recommendation of our Yoga teacher Carol and now I am reading it and trying to figure out how to incorporate movement into everything that I do. The above picture may look like a collection of dirty old golf balls on a chair because it is. However, it’s a great massage. Sit on the zip lock bag and move around a little and voila you have a lovely massage in one of those hard to reach areas. I do this on a chair because frankly, the floor is too hard right now. The tennis ball is used for additional tissue massage wherever I feel like it but usually on the balls of my feet. Although, I also have one of the golf ball baggies at my computer desk which I use when typing. It is a great foot massage. I do not recommend standing on them until you are more familiar with the sensations in your feet. The whole idea is to wake up all those little muscles in your feet. There are 33 joints and over 100 muscles and tendons and ligaments in those beautiful feet. Take care of them and you will take care of the rest of you. Everything is connected.
This week I actually had a massage and the therapist feels that it is my Piriformis muscle that is the tense spot in that sore butt I have been complaining about. She gave me a couple of really good warm-up and cool-down stretches and already I am feeling progress. The stretches and massage plus restorative yoga are really good. By the way, I use frozen rice as an ice pack. Works great! T-minus six days until the Tybee Island 10k race.
Training Walk
Those are happy faces in this selfie. Merilyn and I had just completed one of our favorite walks over the Port Royal bridge and back. It is 10k round trip. We park in the Publix parking lot and walk from there over the bridge to Port Royal and back. It is the closest thing to a hill we have here in the Low Country. It was a gorgeous day, cool and sunny, perfect for a fast walk. I am sure my Canadian pals and my brother will laugh at the elevation but you do what you can with what you’ve got. The water we go over on the bridge is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. We often see rather large boats heading south in the fall and returning in late spring. We like to wave at them if we see anyone on deck. Two crazy ladies having a great time out there walking and sometimes dancing to the music. The rest of the week consisted of a fast walk with Wyke and a lovely easy 4 1/2 mile walk at a simple even pace and then a really good 10k with Wyke on Saturday. The point is I enjoyed all of them.
Taking the Blog on the Road
I was asked some months ago if I would be willing to teach an Olli Course (University of South Carolina, Osher Lifelong Learning) on writing a blog. COM204 WANT TO BLOG IT? Location: USCB Beaufort, Sandstone 124 Sessions: 1 • 2/19/2018 • Monday • 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. I used to do a lot of teaching and speaking in my old life and really enjoyed it so of course I said yes. Then I forgot about it until after the holidays. Now I am working on putting it together and am finding it is really enjoyable to go back and look at the beginning of this journey and to see where it has gone. Just found out that the class is fully subscribed and has a waitlist. Whew, I had better get myself together. Actually, I have been working on the outline and slides for a couple of weeks now and it feels good. In the on-line catalogue they misspelled Louise and made me into Lois but I can live with that. There is always a little apprehension about presenting in front of a group but I know my subject. I am talking about what I did and how I did it. So, stay tuned for an update. It’s a couple of weeks away but when the presentation is done I will put the slideshow on the website and probably a link to it inside the blog. Keeping both the body and the mind active.
Foodie Hint of the Week
Walnuts
You may have heard they are really good for you. Well, they are. Try adding them to oatmeal or on top of a salad or just as a snack. They are full of Omega 3 fatty acids that help promote good heart health, support your brain and help to minimize inflammation in the body. In addition, they support your immune system and promote healthy blood pressure. Just don’t eat a whole bag at once, a handful will do.
Savory Oatmeal Recipe from Bluezones
Ingredients
1 cup (95 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 carrot or small beet, peeled and shredded
1 ½ cups (360 ml) water
1 cup (15 grams) stemmed and chopped kale or (30 grams) chopped spinach
¼ cup (60 grams) salsa or marinara sauce
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
Smoked paprika and/or crushed red pepper, optional
Salt and black pepper
Directions
Combine the oats and carrot in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the water. (Use more or less to achieve the consistency you prefer; 1½ cups/360 ml yields a fairly thick oatmeal.)
Heat until simmering, then cook, stirring often, until everything is tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the kale, salsa, and nutritional yeast.
Pour into a bowl and top with the avocado and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and crushed red pepper, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Variation: Swap in different flavors of salsas or pasta sauces to turn this into a whole new dish.
