In-fra-red Mood

It was the week of the longest night, and the shortest day, and I realized something:  I wasn't in a low mood.  All my life, as it happens with many, many people, during the 2-4 weeks before and after June 21st, I have lower energy, and a less than cheery mood.  Not this year.

I took a look at my diet.  It was admittedly not the healthiest I have done. I like to keep red meats and cheeses at bay.  I stay away from hydrogenated oils and other ingredients in processed foods.  We just flat out avoid processed foods.  But I haven't been eating the larger amounts of veggies and fruits that I should be eating.  I had been eating more sweets and it should have been draining my energy and such.  So I couldn't attribute my improved mood to the diet.

Although I had increased my exercise, it wasn't my best effort, like I had done when I was going to the pool 3 or 4 times a week and working out for 35 -50 minutes each time.  I miss that!  Nope.

The only thing this year that I can say was different was the infrared. I am not a professional scientist, and this isn't a research study.  It's just me. However, for me, I think I am onto something.  My back feels better and I am less depressed in the winter.

Now I want to try to look up something on it. . .   I think it is a little crazy.

Opps I Slipped-Up!

   
     No I didn't fall or anything.  These past two weeks there's been almost no exercise.  I do miss it.  Its just that things in the house have been full on.  That's good too. It means there's life and activity in my home.  I plan to go back at the beginning of next week.
   

     Getting back into exercise isn't as easy as I make it sound in this blog, but the results are good, and I have chosen to focus on that.  As far as not being in the gym goes, I am a mother and caring for my family is good for me too.  I don't begrudge them anything. Regardless, I need to get back to it.


     While I was away,  I still had a lot of thoughts about the work out and the infrared.

     I miss the infrared.  It was so good to my aching back. I still am enjoying the increased flexibility that I gained, but I can tell that I will need to continue if it is going to be a real therapy. And the relaxation that goes with it, there is none that compares except for a couple of hours or more in a Rotorua hot bath.  And that's not a bad idea either.

    Pich had called to ask me how my work out was going.  I think I need to ask her about strengthening my upper back without stressing it out.   When she called I was in the middle of cooking and couldn't give her my undivided attention. I think I will go back with a list.

     So I hope they will still be there when I get back (wink wink).
Opp

This is NOT Your Grandmother's Gym.....

. . . .  and then again it is.

I never imagined that fitness could be so serious and so nurturing at the same time. Not that nurturing isn't serious, but we tend to take it more lightly.  Most adults feel like their time of nurturing is over. We need to be only nurturing others.

I haven't seen everything they do at the Contours on Apriana Rd, but  I hear-tell the employees are going to hula hoop instructor's training this weekend, and that soon we will be able to take these fitness hula hoop classes.   Will they stop at nothing????   HA! I have to see this for myself when the time comes.


So much you can do to stay fit, and so many levels available. Lots of times I don't know what I want to stick to.  When I was swimming it was easier.  But here it's not just the range of activities but also in the kinds of people who come. Grannies are doing the zumba here, (I may be one of them in the weeks to come -just don't film me) and 50 year olds look like athletes, while beginners of any age go into it with all the confidence in the world.

I remember a previous personal trainer in a previous life told me ....

 changing your exercise really helps to keep you in better shape. Doing the same old weight lifting and sit ups doesn't get the results.

Last week I was approached by Emily to see if I wanted to attend one of her classes. I mean, I was on the cycle doing my two hills that Pich recommended, and she just came right up to me.  See this is what I mean about nurturing:  there is always room for the spontaneous human connection as well as the disciplined work stuff. No one ever did that before, not at any gym I have ever used, and Emily was well....

How can I begin to describe Emily?  She gives you the impression that she was raised by warrior elves, in an enchanted forest near a glistening waterfall, eating pink and chartreuse fruits and drinking bubble tea.  She has this adorable unassuming (truly unassuming) way with us, and yet, you know she is really fit, so I guess that warrior has to come out somewhere right?

How could I say "no"?  After all, although I liked my work out, it was getting easy . . . sort of, and I needed to find some new tricks in the business of getting the abdominals to start fending for themselves a little.   That's why I like all the training that goes on around me. It keeps me curious,  They KNOW things, and are very willing to keep us in the know.

Lucky me.  I was the only one who said sure!  So I got to have a private session and the nurturing began.   She showed me some floor exercises and some of them were hard and some were easy, and some were funny to do, like the one where you lie on your back and catch a ball first with your hands and then with your feet.  The elves must have taught her that one.

As for the sauna, it was great. It is always great. I have found that I like to keep my head covered when using it though.  It somehow feels better to do that. Just a simple cotton scarf or  an old t-shirt seems to work.

About the infrared combined with exercise: My clothes zip up better everything buttons and my "fat' jeans are starting to be my "fat" jeans again, after only 4 weeks.  It is a relief. I don't have to buy new clothes..... bummer.  Maybe I can go shopping for smaller clothes a little later.

Celulite

One of the claims of the benefits of infrared sauna is that it gets rid of cellulite.

From the get go I wondered, "Well, even if that is true, how long is that going to take?", expecting to read something saying that - 10 years of regular infrared sauna used along with regular exercise and a vegan diet will diminish cellulite by 20%.  I didn't actually read anything like that.

I have been out of the loop a little where natural health remedies are concerned. It is as if I learned all I wanted to know about 3 years ago, and I'm just going to go with that. Cellulite was not a top priority for me.

I am into doing whatever it takes to stay young, not skinny, not sexy, but young. I'm am a little bit of a fanatic. It is fun, and it is worth the reads in the health magazines.  I get to have something to talk about that isn't gossip, and everyone learns something.

Youthfulness is basically a healthy lifestyle, clean food, low fat, plenty of water, exercise, certain vitamins, natural sugars (not refined), the right amount of sleep. . . Anything else is expensive, cosmetic, surgical, and perhaps unnatural.

That motivation to stay young is in all of us no matter what our age. Think only of tales of the Fountain of Youth.  Take a look at the cosmetics industry, the place where we gladly put our money in exchange for beauty. Sadly, staying young has been so commercialized that it takes a lot of fun out of actually doing it.  You know, the standard is the media standard which equals pressure. The look is the photoshopped look, more pressure. The goal is the unrealistic goal of trying to be a better version of who we once were, instead of the best person we can be now. . .  and at this moment I can hear my father saying, "real beauty is in the heart".

Cellulite is definitely in the skin and it is a sign of something.  I never cared to know.

I guess one of the signs of aging is the presence of cellulite.  That hard fatty substance that lodges in your upper legs and maybe arms and torso.  It keeps your skin from looking smooth and soft and .. wait for it, .... wait for it...  YOUNG.

What is Cellulite and what are the available treatments for it.

Cellulite has been hated as the menace of womanhood since I can remember hearing my aunties complain when we would all be poolside. All I ever heard was that treatments were expensive and unsuccessful overall.  Like it only works on ballerinas and olympic swimmers, and Hollywood celebs because they can't afford for it not to. I dismissed any thought of trying to rid myself of it. It seemed a waste of time. When I got to the infrared claims a couple of weeks ago, I merely dismissed them too. Frankly I didn't care.  

How to treat Cellulite  :  another perspective. Notice they end the article with the words "good luck".  Do I detect a tone of sarcasm?

Here is the reality:  infrared is working  to get rid of cellulite from me.  ME???  .... the one who didn't care!  HA! Unbelievable: I'm really glad about something I didn't care about. That's funny! It feels good that it is going away.  I am inclined to believe that toxins and the lymphatic system are how cellulite gets is unwanted resting place in our thighs, and I am convinced that exercise and infrared are getting rid of it.

My experience is this.  After the sauna, I drink a lot of water, and try to keep my diet really clean and healthy.  By evening I start to feel mild cold symptoms.   After a few hours of that, I feel better.  Then I start to notice that the cellulite is going away.  Often I don't believe it myself so I do a little test pinch or something and surely it is already looking better.  How many visits to the sauna?  I think only 4 so far.

Gosh I feel like a blooming revolutionary or something.

I'm going to get another glass of water.

Health and the Pamper Factor

Every time I go to Contours I look for things.  I do it somewhat unconsciously.  Part of my motivation is that, quite frankly, I'm rather spoiled.  So, when I go to places like these, I guess I look for the "pamper factor".

It is a wonder I lasted over two years going to the community pool. Those places are kind of unkempt, and they don't smell good either (usually poorly ventilated). The volume of people that go through compared to the number of hardworking staff is much higher at the pools. I can't imagine how they would keep it nice. Likewise, at most gyms I have been to, the staff to client ratios are much higher than this place.

At Contours I notice all the things that were missing at the community pool:  hair dryers, scales, nice sized lockers,  carpeting that isn't sopping wet, a community information board, the credentials of the women who work there are posted, there's water available on the gym floor, and the staff is incredibly friendly.   And the best part is that it is clean, clean, clean.

NO I take that back.  That's not the very best part. But, the very best part isn't physical comfort, it is emotional, social comfort.  Truly.  The ladies who work out there are so balanced in the way they go about things, and they respect your privacy.   Better still is the unconditional positive regard from the staff that sets the tone. One feels like one is being cultivated there, not just exercising. Granted not in the intellectual sense, but certainly not merely in the physical.   I see it in the confidence that the ladies have trying new things with the trainer.  They have real zeal.

I kid you not about the cultivation.   The women there know their exercise!  Every level of work out goes on there.   It is so nice to be in a place where the women feel good about their workouts, and it is not about being attractive, but they appear to have a healthy well-rounded outlook.  If I were to go a little more into it, I think it is because the sense of balance they they get physically translates existentially.  It seems like balance, core, stability and real fitness is the true goal. I have never seen it like this anywhere else.

Last time I was there, I didn't plan my time as well as I would have liked, but that was my bad so to speak.  I am gaining strength quickly and I like that.  My back pain is diminished even though it is a damp rainy day.  I didn't go into the sauna.  I don't really want to go more than twice a week.   It does seem to be delivering everything I read it should. My complexion is improving, I am gaining flexibility that I can easily notice every time I back up the car and I can actually see what is behind me.

Its only been two weeks, and I like the results.

Day Two in the Gym

It was my 4th day at Contours, my second day on the gym floor, and 3rd time in the sauna.

Okay so in walking up to the Contours gym, these past few times, I have noticed these little people on their way to the same place....  Oh yeah, they have been following me every time.  I was feeling a little suspicious at first.  "So I'm going to be lifting weights with toddlers?"  Hmmmm.   Well if you can call what I do lifting weights. Many of the women who work out there are mothers, and really every mother needs some kind of support to get it all done.  No nanny?  No problem.  There is a daycare room right there.  I should take a peek into the room one day just to see if they have better toys to play with than we do.

For the record. I am liking the toys we have. There are free weights and I took some of them into my floor "routine". I also noticed that Pich was working with another member with free weights.  This lady was in great shape. It was that healthy balanced kind of good shape that people have when their spine is aligned well and all the movements were just right.  Kids seems to have all their muscle groups working for them in all the right ways. But as we get older, it seems that some muscle groups are stiff, like mine, or some have kind of gone to sleep, or atrophied a bit.

A balanced body is so lovely in its engineering. I have a friend, we'll call her Amanda, she is deeply devoted to her exercise. She is beautiful through and through, and she has those graceful movements that make her appear so grounded and well rounded. It gives the impression of a healthy mind as well.  That's what I remember about this woman who was working out last Thursday.   Her outlook seemed positive, and her focus seemed sure. There were a few ladies who looked like that to me. I felt proud of them too in some empathic way.

That balance is the main reason why I exercise. For me it is not about weight as much as it is about balance. It is that well rounded feeling that makes exercise worth it. Balance makes everything I do feel better, even house cleaning, even breathing. For me the feeling of a clean breath goes with a well aligned spine, like every breath is a meditation.

The rowing machine was already a little easier. I was able to pick up speed where needed.  I must say however, I really am starting to miss the pool.  It is a longing of mine to be in the water, and maintaining those strokes.

The exercise took about an hour, and I was a little pressed for time.  Will have to get an earlier start this week.  I plan on going in about 3x this week to see how I fair.

The infrared, I think I will not do it at the same time as exercise. Last time I got a headache. I am appreciative of the therapy it gave.  Water and a banana, and some guacamole and crackers helped, and I was feeling better just an hour later. Of course lots of water.

 I know this sounds a little different, but my back has been hurting all weekend.  This was a good hurt. It means my stiff vertebrae are moving again and that the muscles are getting used to being active.  It also means they are threatening to lock up again if I don't make the effort to keep them limber.

So far so good.   See you again in the next week!

Round 3 DING!

Learning the ropes...

On Thursday I got an introduction to the work out floor.   

Filled in a questionnaire. 

Easy enough.  I was starting to like this workout stuff. 

Then Pich, one of the fabulous instructors,  made a routine to follow based on what I like and don’t like, and my goals. Funny how goals are so clear to me at my age, when they were so elusive when I was younger... Surely you understand. When we were younger we all kind of had the option of becoming Olympic Gold medalists.  Don’t believe me?  Have you seen the movie Cool Runnings?  The Jamaican bobsled team? Now that I know I could never be one of those, it is so much easier to set a goal.   

 We started with the rowing machine.   Remember that 10 months?  If my legs could talk, I’d have been reprimanded.   Pich thought for certain I should be able to go faster.  Nothin’ doin’.  No matter how hard I tried, those muscles were not going to move any faster.  I kept referencing the 10 months.   My quads and other muscular companions were not intimidated in the least.  I think Pich wasn't too impressed either (just kidding, she was actually quite nurturing, but just humor me here)  

Pich is not a drill sergeant or anything, but she knows what her goals are for us, and I have a feeling she knows why too.  After all, we are there to get results and not to putz around.   She however looks like a Gold medalist in something - probably rowing - and so, I am sure she was just sharing the wealth.  

Grateful for that 10 minutes of affliction, we moved on to some other machines. 

You don’t always know what you’re missing...   That machine stuff isn’t always as straight forward as you may think.  She demonstrated it for me, and then she watched me muck it up.  . . .  Well how was I supposed to know that you can get some core strengthening from the pull down bar?   See that’s why people like Pich are not only necessary, they are necessary.  With her avid instruction, I tucked in whatever tummy muscles I have and it made the difference.  

I only wish Pich had time to help me out again.  She’s pretty good. 

Did you know it takes an hour to rev up the sauna?  

After the workout, if you can call it that, cause it was more like  a "muscle wake up" session,  it was finally  sauna time.  This time I was not curious and quite eager to get started.  I took in a book, and a journal, and shared the time with them both.   Again it wasn’t “sauna hot” in there, but after 10 minutes I was.. and then all that sweat and relaxation came on like clockwork.   

No tan. 

DO NOT get this confused with a tanning bed.

   

I do want to look up infrared and complexion. My blemishes are disappearing.  

skin therapy and infrared????

I guess you have to try it to believe it.  

In all honesty, I have missed my workouts.   I am enjoying being in a women's gym, and I'd like to write a little more about that in another post.  I feel a lot less anxious after just two visits. I do wish that there was a little more for me to do on the gym floor, but I have to be realistic, knowing that working into it slowly is a good thing.  It is a good thing, taking advantage of this positively instructional, and life affirming opportunity. 

Getting Acquainted

It was the Friday before Good Friday, and I was motivated to go into Contours to get acquainted with the people and the facility.  I knew the next week would be out of the question. Easter preparations were going to be very time consuming, and with "no time like the present," urging me on one hand so to speak, and  a touch of self doubt on the other, I called to make my appointment for 30 minutes in their infrared sauna. This way I would at least get the process started. 

As with anything new regarding my health, I had to "google" it  before  taking part. I wanted to know how safe, and if there are any health benefits.  Here is what I found:  

What MAYO CLINIC has to say about Infrared saunas.

AND. . . 

What a smart consumer should be looking out for.

"Affecting everyone:

• Overheating (heat exhaustion and heat stroke)

• Dehydration

• Using the sauna while drinking or after drinking alcohol

• Depleting your electrolytes or minerals through sweating

• The effects of mobilized toxins

It is, as well, not recommended to use the sauna during an acute illness or injury where it may interfere with the natural healing process. For example, it is recommended to avoid sauna use during the first 48 hours of an acute sprain-type injury.

Affecting only some people:

• Adverse effects on certain medical conditions

• Interference with the absorption and/or effects of certain medications

• Adverse effects on some implants"

I thought the effects of mobilized toxins part was interesting.  A good read that part. 

So much to read on infrared saunas!  It must be the latest thing.  All the warnings looked reasonable for any sauna or hot tub, nothing unordinary. In other words, "it's all good".  As for health benefits, every article I read said "good for arthritis" amongst other things. Could I be anymore encouraged? 


I came in the afternoon, and drove into an appealing location on Apirana Rd. I mean how convenient to be one floor above Nosh, a massage-facial salon, on a road with little traffic, and a cafe on the corner. Let’s not forget plenty of parking.  

  
Dale was expecting me.  We sat a little.  It was clear, she was genuinely interested in my purpose for being there, and what makes me comfortable. I would say she is very professional with a tender personal touch.  You can tell she is really listening and not just trying to get on with things; a naturally talented problem solver. I am sure she had 100 things to do. Nevertheless, she made sure they were not my concern.

After our little chat, she showed me around the premises, and the private room where the infrared sauna resides. It looks a little like a cross between a traditional sauna and a Japanese tea house, with all the same sense of relaxation implied.  I started to crave an organic white tea with cranberry-orange essence that I had at The Fridge in Kingsland a few weeks back. Yum.

Inside, is a CD player which I just about broke trying to figure out how to operate it. That or maybe the heat was getting to it.  It was loaded with a Mozart CD. The speakers were internal. There were magazines in a rack just beside the unit. There was also a rather comfy movable back board for leaning against for added relaxation.   There were about 3 or 4 ways I could set the lights. Dale was keen to make sure the "heat" settings were just right.

    The rest was up to me.   Nice.

It wasn't very hot inside when I entered, not initial heat shock. I took in a magazine and my journal to write, and I waited. I wasn't sure anything was happening yet.

Admittedly, at first I was a bit stultified. Unaccustomed to having nothing to do, I couldn't even get my mind to wander...  "be home by 3pm, ironing, vacuum, kitchen too, stop by grocery on the way back."  I had a hunch that mentally I was doing something wrong.   

Long before I started to sweat however, I started to feel relaxed.  I decided to ditch the magazine and the journal, dimmed the lights.  With the lights so low, I could tell, not only was the relaxation real, but so was the sweat!  It was like being on the beach on a hot summer day in the tropics, only it was dark and I was indoors.  

After that, I started to notice my back feeling more flexible where it is usually tight and stiff due to that nagging arthritis.   I really liked the unfettered feeling. I didn't notice anything different in my breathing, except that I was relaxed. I didn't notice anything like a change in heart rate either.  

I stepped out of the unit once to get a sip (gulp) of water, although I didn't feel inordinately thirsty.  The rest I drank after the session.  They say it is important to drink WATER before and after. 

When I got out, I was drenched.  One of the articles I read on infrared, referred to the intense sweating as a very good thing, since it releases toxins. Remember in my last entry, how I was wondering why I had stopped working out?  I am hoping that getting rid of some toxins might help clear that up too. ;)    

  

Jump Started

Confession time.


I haven't exercised in nearly 10 months.


That's it, and if you can forgive me, I'd be much obliged.

It wasn't what I was expecting in the least.  Quite the opposite.  I had left my July holiday in Europe feeling physically stronger and determined to up my exercise a little.  I was looking forward to doing a little more and feeling a little bolder too.

For reasons, that I still cannot explain, when I came home, I stopped after 14 years of commitment to swimming. I had loved it.  I liked it too, and it was good for me.  Short of believing that the chlorine had ruined my brain, I am baffled still as to why I won't go.

I experienced it like the end of a relationship, or a room mate leaving, or a sister going off to Uni and never having breakfast together again.  That's how much me and swimming were a thing.


Too, I experienced it as a coming of age thing after a while.  Really.  Sad as it may seem at first, I am middle aged and I think from the depths of my heart I have given up a kind of vanity. It is truly something I never want to return to, that fruitless self-absorbtion, the false need to live up to something that is beneath our ideal identity.  I guess you can call it "living down to."

Youthfulness is good, but now it is only good in the heart, where you can touch the soul of a child, or anyone for that matter.  Attractiveness is good, but now it is only good as a matter of character and not a physical thing.   Honestly, I think I may be maturing or something. If there is a subconscious process, for now, I'm willing to go with it.  Because for now, it has to be okay....

.... and then again it is not.  I mean I am happy that these superficial things don't matter.   But in this world, exercise is not necessarily a superficial thing. It is a necessary thing for health and well-being, especially for us city dwelling middle agers who still have kids at home.  So I put my mind to how I may convert myself back into a woman who exercises... hmmmm... thinking, thinking, thinking.  A friend of mine unwittingly gave me something that helped me turn it all around...   a one month free membership to Contours.

No I am not being paid to do this.

No they didn't even ask me to.    I offered.

The ladies at the Contour's Gym in Glenn Innes were wonderfully accommodating, easy to talk to, and never too "busy" for me. They appear quite keen to provide a healthy indulgence. I'll write more about that later.

And oh, I hope my readers are not expecting photos.  For me this is a matter of health, of ethos and fortitude, and not physical image.

So, if you are willing to take a little month's trip with me to the gym, you are more than welcome through this blog.  I would love your feedback too.  You never know, something you have to say may reach out to someone reading along.  Just be kind and caring please.  Exercise is a very personal thing, and our readers may be sensitive.