(Annyshay) Book One: Ice

[annyshay]

For any newbies, welcome! I'm Annyshay (Shannon IRL), and I've been wandering around in the rebellion for quite some time now. For all my allies, welcome back! I'm never exactly sure where I fit... assassin, ranger, adventurer, druid. Lately, I've had a lot of life events that have brought me back to examine my identity. And like any millennial worth her salt, I took a bunch of online quizzes...  Unfortunately...

 

Your results were not clear.

 

Tell me about it, quiz... wait a minute. I know what this means.

 

 

I'm the friggen...

 

 

Time to bust out of this stupid Iceberg...

 

 

With a little help from my friends...

 

 

(PS, that's you guys )

 

[annyshay]

Are you thinking to yourself... avatar? Educate yourself.

 

Spoiler

"Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Each nation has its own natural element, on which it bases its society, and within each nation exist people known as "benders" who have the innate power and ability to control and manipulate the eponymous element of their nation. The show's creators assigned each bending art its own style of martial arts, causing it to inherit the advantages and weaknesses of the martial arts it was assigned. The four types of bending arts are waterbending, earthbending, firebending, and airbending.

 

Each generation yields one person who is capable of controlling and manipulating all four elements, the Avatar. When an Avatar dies, they are reincarnated into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. The Avatar Cycle parallels the seasons: autumn for the Air Nomads, winter for the Water Tribe, spring for the Earth Kingdom and summer for the Fire Nation. Legend holds the Avatar must master each bending art in order, starting with his or her native element. This can sometimes be compromised when the situation requires it, as Aang demonstrates in the show. For the Avatar, learning to bend the element opposite his native element can be extremely challenging and difficult. This is because opposing bending arts are based on opposing fighting styles and disciplines. Firebending and waterbending are opposites, as are earthbending and airbending."  ~~from Avatar Wiki's article here.

 

Disclaimer - I have NOT seen Legend of Korra. Please be wary of spoilers.

 

Now, watch the TV show, henceforth Avatar or ATLA. DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE. NEVER THE MOVIE.

 

 

[annyshay]

MASTERS

 

 

Wim Hof creator of Wim Hof Method (About)

 

 

Steve Kamb (aka Rebel One) of this fair site and Rising Heroes (About)

 

 

Amy Clover creator of Strong Inside Out and Intentional Eating (About)

[annyshay]

So, this isn't a non-challenge, but I'm going to transition how I post. I'd rather share the journey here than focus on arbitrary metrics. Basically, I'm recovering from perfectionism and want my challenges to continue to support my healing. Master Amy explains it well in this article. So, expect fewer lists and more sentence fragments, rambly paragraphs, gifs, links to music videos, and interesting articles. If you want the nitty gritty details, they'll be in my battle log.

 

Main Quest: Master of All Four Elements

 

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Soooo, I should go watch the movie, right?  

[annyshay]

9 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Soooo, I should go watch the movie, right?  

 

[Mad Hatter]

Ok  movie it is  

[annyshay]

3 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Ok  movie it is  

[annyshay]

So, today was the first day of week 5 in Wim Hof Method. The video starts with Wim saying excitedly that things are going to get serious.

 

I woke up slowly without an alarm this morning (such a treat). I start doing my joint mobility routine each morning while I'm still in bed (controlled circles of every joint, basically). I get up to feed Dragon, take meds, care for my teeth, and then finish a few joint mobility things (hips and shoulders, mostly) before crawling back into bed with my phone. Phone sleeps outside my bedroom to prevent late night screens, so I go get it while I'm brushing my teeth.  Then it's time to breathe!

 

Wim Hof Method unites breath, exercises, and cold exposure. The first chunk of my day is playing with breath. This week there are 4 retentions and then a final retention with push ups. I was watching along with the video this morning, and they barely spent a few minutes on oxygenating before the first retention.  But, I was able to focus on a good rhythm and by my final retention held my breath for over a minute. This week, we're holding our breath OUT for the push up retention. I was nervous because it seems very different, but found that my body was ready. I did 10 push ups, which is about the same as how I was doing last week with the breath IN. For reference, my baselines before the program were holding my breath about 12 seconds and 2 regular push ups. I was running a bit late to get to church, so I decided to skip meditation and head straight to the shower.

 

If you remember from @zenLara, week 5 we do 10 minute cold showers every day. I did one last week without too much trouble but spent the rest of the day kind of shivery. So, I was a bit nervous about how today would go. But, as Wim says, I still have my brain!

 

 

It was actually really pleasant! I've been able to feel the "closing down of the veins" that Wim describes happening faster and faster. After a few seconds, it's basically just a shower. I put on a normal amount of clothes (long sleeve light sweater, jeans, fuzzy socks) and haven't been chilled all day. In fact, I just took my socks off and am eating Halo Top ice cream as I write this.  But, I just did the exercises, so I will probably put the socks back on momentarily.

 

Exercises this week. Serious. So, I tried to get my brain right and not psych myself out before giving my body a chance to show what it could do. We started with the usual stetches (hamstrings - right, left, then both - followed by cobra and a seated twist) with the addition of butterfly. Then it was time to get serious.  We started with a high lunge on both sides to prep for working on splits... with my right leg forward, I got closer to the floor than usual. I should figure out how to take pictures. I've never had a full split, front or sideways. I'm pretty sure I was deeper today than ever before. With my left leg forward I was able to sit flat on my butt with my right leg bent off to the side. My hips felt more square, but I dunno if it's cheating. Pictures would help, I know. Maybe I'll try some progress ones like this dude...

 

 

I'm starting a bit lower than his Day 92. Then it was time to try the shelf... (supposed to look like this...)

 

 

I'm having trouble getting my elbows deep into my pelvis because of my shape. I could sort of totter as if I was going to try crow. That's about it. Lots of room to progress! Finally was headstands. I was actually able to get up into a really shaky shoulder stand for a few seconds. Thinking about playing around with tripod headstand to start. @Mad Hatter, got any suuuuuper beginner inversion progressions for a headstand?

[WhiteGhost]

That Wim Hof stuff is intriguing. I am going to have to take a closer look at it

[annyshay]

6 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

That Wim Hof stuff is intriguing. I am going to have to take a closer look at it

Do eeeeeet!

 

[annyshay]

 

That’s 9.5 in Celsius FYI. *puffs out chest*

[annyshay]

WHM (Wim Hof Method) w5d2

 

Forgot that I had my alarm on, but was ready to wake up. Did my whole series this morning with excellent focus. New breath retention time of 1:13 (PR = personal record for meeeeee). I had some ringing in my ears for the first time with this.

 

Push ups with elbows in tighter and got 11. Excellent stretches where I really felt like I got deeper. Kept my hips square for splits. Right (when that leg is forward, is that accurate nomenclature?) split is deeper than left. I need to bolster my knees so they’re not bearing too much pressure. Couldn’t get shelf but got a few nice seconds of crow. Shoulder stand wasn’t good, so I put my legs up for a bit.

 

Meditation for 10 minuets was nice with a small bit of a light show. I only saw the stroboscope once or twice. Straight into t he cold shower. 10 minutes is a long time! So I shaved to keep myself busy as there a few times when the cold was making me tense up instead of just enjoying it.

 

Now I’m enjoying some kitteh and tea time before my work day starts. I’ve got a meeting tomorrow that I want to be ready for. Happy Monday everyone!

 

[Mrs Van]

We need a wow button. I wanted to say Wow! so many times reading your thread. I'm so impressed with you, as usual.

[Mad Hatter]

16 hours ago, annyshay said:

Thinking about playing around with tripod headstand to start. @Mad Hatter, got any suuuuuper beginner inversion progressions for a headstand?

Yes tripod headstand is great! You can start by getting into a tripod position with your feet still on the floor to get a feel for what it's like to put weight on your head. (Note that most of your weight should be on your arms, not your head) Once you feel comfortable with that you can try placing one knee on the "shelf" that's created when you bend your arms. You want to place the knee close to the elbow and lift your hips as high as possible. If that feels comfortable place the other knee on the other shelf and you're in a baby headstand.  

[annyshay]

 

[Sylvaa]

Welcome back to the Adventurer's! 

 

Such a fan of how you are using this challenge to help support yourself. Also, definitely love the Steve picture you chose!

[Equinoxe]

Love it! I also have an Avatar-themed challenge, but not nearly as ice-themed. You are gonna break out of that iceberg for sure! 

 

 

(Alright that's LoK, but hopefully the point is made...)

[KB Girl]

Hey
I'm in awe with the discipline you're displaying! What a way to start the day!

[WhiteGhost]

18 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

We need a wow button. I wanted to say Wow! so many times reading your thread. I'm so impressed with you, as usual.

Fer realz

[annyshay]

Shucks. Thanks everyone. This morning was a bit harder during my shower. Cold, shivery, don’t wanna. But by the last few minutes I had accepted it and was back to normal. Retention’s were good this morning. New PR = 1:18. Had more ringing in my ears and lights. Still not tons of tingling. Everybody’s physiology is different... and awesome.

[Akura]

On 15.10.2017 at 6:50 PM, annyshay said:

expect fewer lists and more sentence fragments, rambly paragraphs, gifs, links to music videos, and interesting articles.

 

I'm looking forward to that! Your Daily Battle Log is great, but it is hard for readers to participate.

[WolfDreamer]

On 10/15/2017 at 12:50 PM, annyshay said:

So, expect fewer lists and more sentence fragments, rambly paragraphs, gifs, links to music videos, and interesting articles.

 

That's all of my posts in a nutshell. 

 

I'm really glad you're back with us. I look forward to the awesomeness. Let me know if I can help in any way.

[annyshay]

3 hours ago, Akura said:

 

I'm looking forward to that! Your Daily Battle Log is great, but it is hard for readers to participate.

Legit. I've found that having it as an anchor keeps me posting when things go sideways, but it's not enough.  I need to hear from you guys and have gifs and music and shenanigans.

 

34 minutes ago, Wolfen said:

 

That's all of my posts in a nutshell. 

 

I'm really glad you're back with us. I look forward to the awesomeness. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Totally a coincidence. *whistles innocently* *tries to hide assassin thievery tendencies* 

[raptron]

LOOOOVE THIS.