echampoux

I figured out a little more this weekend that the main source of my misalignment is actually my right ankle. It's still weak from sprains I had when I was younger. So, adding the Egoscue e-cises pertaining to foot and ankle strength to my current regimen. If I haven't mastered the basics, I can't move on to the advanced set, right?

Christine, this is Greek to me. Where are the dungeon and the juice bar. #newtothisforumthingie

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54646-posture-echampouxs-pre-game-tutorial/?hl=posture

Ok, so I have just been way too busy to post for a couple of days, but here's what's going on: My hips are definitely improving. No pain yesterday or today. They also aren't popping out right now. I'm keeping up with the Egoscue and Gokhale stuff. Also, pigeon pose and I have a love/hate relationship, but more love than hate. Shoulders and neck are still a work in progress. Definite tightness/soreness in the lats & delts. I added some band excercises and wall pushups, so we'll see how that goes. I have (another) massage scheduled Saturday. I've been getting them once a week since the middle of August, other than the weekend I was at CNF. On the one hand, it seems excessive and massages are usually something people consider a luxury, but I've learned that they are a huge necessity for this quest and one of the few things worth spending some $$$. I've been slacking on the selfie side quest. I also need to take progress photos& take measurements, probably in a week. The last ones I have are nearly 2mos old. I've dropped 2 dress sizes since 7/7/14, so they should be fun. I've still been walking to work everyday, and getting in my 11,000 steps or so. I have a Misfit Shine and I love when it lights up and shows that I've completed my steps! Walking seems to be affecting my other everyday behaviors, like planning my outfits the night before, planning meals ahead of time so I don't run to the store every night, planning what other things I can accomplish in the neighborhood while walking. I have a little habit I started last month that I also find helpful: I have Tea Time after work. I love the Adagio loose leaf teas, especially the fandom blends. So nerdy, lol! I have a cup or two of tea and some sort of paleo friendly "treat" and I'm revived enough for whatever I have to do that night. Because I'm having to plan things better, I joined Once a Month Meals. It's a service that culls recipes from the internet and creates shopping, prep and cooking lists. Then you fix everything on one day and freeze it so you have breakfasts, lunches and dinners for a month. I had a big cooking day yesterday, and I'm so happy to have a month's worth of Paleo food in my freezer. I'm also doing the Green Smoothie Challenge this month. I've been drinking green smoothies every morning for about a month, but this will stretch my smoothie making a bit further and reinforce the habit. I've got my coworkers and management in on my support team. They purchased a kneeling chair for me, and I think my boss is going to help with a sit-to-stand desk. I've learned that you 1. can't be healthy on a standard American diet, and 2. have to move if you want to be able to move. So, all in all I think things are going very well and I'm cruising right along. I'm going to try to meet up with another CNFer at a Zumbathon in a couple of weeks, and Zumba was totally off the table for a while because of my posture and hypermobility issues. I'm also thinking I'll sign up for some 5K walks in November and December, and try to hit at least one special event per month. I'm really hoping to be able to start doing more "fun" stuff, especially trying out some more adventurous classes at camp next year.

I didn't update over the weekend, b/c it wasn't easy to get to a computer and not just my phone. I was super busy! I kept up with the Egoscue and Gokhale methodologies, and I started incorporating some yoga and hip strengtheners. You know what? I can't sit on a regular couch anymore. Slouching is becoming unnatural, yay! I still had some pain, but usually some time in an E-cise from the Egoscue menu and I was good to go. One of the big things I'm learning is not to stop using a body part because it hurts, but to figure out where the dysfunction is and fix it so I can use the body part in a way that doesn't cause pain. We were made to move!

I'm still trying to understand Gokhale, but the Egoscue stuff isn't complicated and seems to help. My biggest problem is being patient--I want to undo years of dysfunction in a couple of days so I can move on to stuff that seems more exciting. <sigh> I used to take ballet when I was a kid, and trying to emulate the Gokhale method stuff seems to bring back muscle memory of ballet postures. I've progressed to the point where, when my hip is out, I can fairly easily get it back in place with a few rotations. So, making some progress I think.

I'm also doing my (first) challenge to correct alignment and posture! (I'm calling it Back to the Future, lol.) I have some opposite problems: I'm hypermobile, which means I'm so flexible I injure myself, so I need to build stability in my core. I'm using the Egoscue & Gokhale methods, and following modernhealthmonk.com's blog posts on the subject. Best wishes, it sounds like you have things set up for success!

Yay! Fellow CNFer's! I'm finding my way to the boards, too.

An odd little sidequest: Selfies. I hate selfies. I never think they look good. So I'm challenging myself to take them, everyday, lots, and figure out what is going on. It could be a body image thing, we'll see.

#NFBacktotheFuture Posture Quest: This is the article that got me going. http://modernhealthmonk.com/neck-and-shoulder-pain/

Haha, thanks @kimgibas1 for the name for my 1st-ever #NerdFitness 6-wk challenge on posture: #NFBacktotheFuture!

So, my #1 goal for the next 5 weeks: to not have posture-related pain. That's it. It doesn't sound big, but for me it's huge. It's going to require doing my Egoscue E-cises and learning my Gokhale method stuff, as well as moving and stretching and generally taking care of myself.

I figured out that before I can really start playing the NF game to Level Up, I have to hit the boring pre-game tutorial called Posture. I've got to do it though, because my posture and alignment issues have crept up over the past 5yrs or so to cause a lot of pain and discomfort, and any time I try other exercises I just get injured because my posture muscles majorly suck.