Plantar fasciitis can be very painful.

I was at a Ewomen business luncheon yesterday and as we always do we introduce our business to the ladies and other business owners around the table.  I was sitting next to Joy Heartsong of Heartsong Healing and she was speaking about a client that had plantar fasciitis and after two sessions she had cleared up his symptoms and he walked out pain free.

Jesse James Retherford explains it best; the plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of connective tissue located on the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone and extends along the sole of the foot towards the five toes. Its function is to help maintain the arch of the foot, and it acts as a powerful spring with a fundamental role in shock absorption and forward propulsion.

It starts out as a dull pain and usually worse early morning until you get up and move around some.  Some who suffer may also suffer from knee pain and hurt off and on for years before becoming unbearable.  Plantar fasciitis is caused by stress to the soft tissue that supports the arch of the foot. It is possible to develop plantar fasciitis from an acute injury, although it is far more commonly a result of repetitive trauma to the foot from walking or running with poor gait mechanics.


The arch of the foot acts like a shock-absorbing spring. With proper walking or running mechanics, the arch absorbs and releases the impact of each step, preventing damage to the knees and hips. The problem that most people have is that they heel strike, a dysfunctional gait pattern developed due to previous injury or poor shoe selection. Some have been taught to run heel to toe.  When you heel strike, you bypass the natural spring of the arch, and the impact of each step is driven through your heel. This causes an ongoing series of micro traumas directly to the heel — where the plantar fascia attaches — and through the soft tissue of the knee and hip. The repeated stress and strain from each step you take can cause tiny tears in the ligaments and tendons and build restriction in the calf muscles.

This is also a very common occurrence with overweight individuals.

There are several ways to treat plantar fasciitis;

• deep tissue massage (i know a great massage therapist)
• healing touch therapy (a couple of sessions)
• self myofascial release (I can teach you what you can do at home)
• get properly fitted shoes (we have several running stores to choose from)
• flexibility and corrective exercise (A few sessions with me can get you going)

Do yourself a favor and seek advice from the professionals before you start out your running program, it can make all the difference in how you treat your body.



 




 

Are you frustrated with your gym workout? Do you know what your doing? Can you ask for help?

November is almost here and the gyms should have a new rush of people coming out from the cold to start their inside routines. If you joined the gym to get in better shape, reduce some inches or pounds or just wanted to start feeling better that is great. But ask yourself how is that working for you?

Does your gym offer orientations to help you with the equipment or do they have staff friendly and approachable enough to ask questions? That is one of the complaints I get from clients is that a person joins a gym and they are psyched up to get started and then they walk into the room and jump on the comfortable piece of equipment which is generally the treadmill. They do that for awhile, look around the room trying to figure out what to do with the equipment, might try out one or two pieces again probably the ab machine and chest press, the machines that are usually the easiest to figure out and then they leave.

One of the important parts of exercise is to have a well rounded program that works all the muscles. I know and have seen many walk into a gym and do endless hours of cardio, the ab machines and maybe a few more and then walk out. They are doing a disservice to themselves by not asking for help or even by not hiring a trainer that can teach them how to safely operate any of the machines, so they can benefit fully and walk out healthier than they walked in. That is the point of joining a gym and exercising.

I work with clients to teach them exercises they can do to strengthen their bodies without the use of much equipment. I teach them what muscles they should feel while doing a particular exercise. I educate them on how certain exercises work certain muscles and how that may play a part in their daily lives. I teach a Get Fit small group personal training class that increases your energy, helps you breathe better, works on your balance and you even have fun while attending. Each session is different so you will never be bored.

If you really want to use that gym membership, then do it, but if you find your not getting the full benefit, take a different approach. I can create a program using the gym equipment you have and how you can get the full benefit of each exercise. Investing in yourself for a month to get a great headstart on your exercise programming will give you the results you are looking for.

If you know anyone that may be interested in taking charge of their health, please don't hesitate to have them Contact me for any information I can help them with.

Develop intrapersonal synergy.

Intrapersonal synergy provides the internal security sufficient to handle the risks of being open and vulnerable.  Internalizing these principles helps us develop the abundance mentality of Win-Win and the authenticity of Habit 5 Seek first to understand then to be understood.

This is a powerful aspect to overcome, the opening up of yourself and your vulnerability.  I have myself learned to open up over the last few years and while it can be very intimidating, it does have its rewards.  When you close yourself off you are hindering yourself instead of growing.  Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Persuasion vs Influence

I am reposting from another blog of mine that I combining with this one and thought it worthy of reposting.  I read a book by Chris Widener called The Art of Influence and one of the points he made is that there is a big difference between persuasion, convincing people of something or manipulation or even slick fast talking and influence,  which is about the ability to influence others by starting within yourself.


Persuasion is about what you do to other people, techniques or how to win an argument, to see your point of view.

Influence, on the other hand is your ability to change another person's thoughts, beliefs or actions.  I would rather do brainstorm with others and here their views of the situation and see how differently we think. 

Would you rather be persuasive and influential to those that cross your path? Influence is all about who you become as you progress through life.  You have to also choose to be a positive or negative influence, because everyone one of us knows someone in our life that has been both to us. 

Manage yourself.

Effective management is putting first things first.  If you are an effective manager of your self, your discipline comes from within; it is a function of your independent will.  You are a disciple of your own deep values and their source.  Steven R Covey

Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong, against what you value or believe?  Trust your instinct, if it feels wrong, it probably is.  We grow up with different belief systems, our parents or someone of influence teaches us, not always the right things and that is where the problem begins. 

As we become adults we have choices to now make on our own.  We can choose to live a life that goes against what we have grown up believing or we can choose differently now that we believe differently.  It is our life and our choice to change what isn't working or serving us now.  It doesn't have to be radical changes and certainly don't change to quickly if you aren't driven by change. 

Do you have trouble exercising regularly?

It's very important that we have a well balanced, exercise routine that we commit to for the rest of our lives.  I have some women that want to lose a few pounds.  What they don't realize (of course until I explain it) is that it doesn't stop with that first weight loss goal.  If they don't maintain a regular exercise routine, they will most likely gain the weight back and more. 

Another important issue is offsetting our aging process.  As we age;

• we lose our strength
• our bone mass
• our flexibility
• our balance and stability
• control of our bodies

 It's not about the weight only.  If we don't practice the above on a regular basis we open ourselves to a whole host of disease's just waiting for our ok.  Take inventory of 10 people in your close circle of family and friends age 50 and above.  Be honest with each other and ask them what medical issues they have and it may surprise you as to how many people you know that already have some sort of disease.  Then ask how often they exercise regularly.  Ask them how they feel, are they tired all the time, are they always achy.  How is their sunny disposition?

Now ask yourself the same questions.  If you aren't treating yourself well, why not?  There are so many reasons why, but really WHY NOT?

If you need to find another path Contact Me, I have different options and we can create one that works for you.
If you do have a scheduling problem that maybe always changes I sell a Get Fit Keytag that allows you to buy sessions and come when you can.  The keytag is for 13 sessions and the month October only I am selling them for $125 savings of $25 you are getting 3 classes for FREE.

Plan your week.

Weekly organizing gives you the freedom and the flexibility to handle unanticipated events, to shift appointments if you need to, to savor relationships and interactions with others, and to deeply enjoy spontaneous experiences.  Steven R Covey

How do you set up your day or week?  Have you ever put off entering your contacts from the last couple networking events you attended?  You may have even talked with a few key alliances and the procrastination has aided in your memory loss of the conversation.  This is one of the aspects I would like to get better at and set up appointments that I need to with my computer, but sometimes my computer doesn't agree and has a different agenda for the day. 

We all plan to do the office work or plan our vacations and even plan our weekends.  Think how much easier our day would go if we planned out our week. If appointments have to be rescheduled or cancelled and we already have our main duties planned out, we may even find we can take that now empty time slot to do something fun.

I love to be spontaneous and of course my career of choice allows that flexibility and it actually comes in handy when a client has to change their appointment.  Give it try.

Get Fit for Menopause

Every woman reading this has experienced or will experience menopause.  It will happen.  Its not something that we can avoid, it happens naturally and can vary in the age of the woman, but generally 40-55ish.  The average age is 51.  Have you gone through menopause?  I have had some clients that have had a horrible time with it and others who have not. 
If you haven't experienced it, then prepare now so you can experience the least amount of those dreaded symptoms when it does come along.  Get a complete medical exam to see where you are and by being proactive you will know if something goes awry.  I personally have had a few hot flashes and night sweats, but those occurred early on when I had a partial hysterectomy at the age of 32.  I have not experienced full blown symptoms and I am now 51. 
I contribute some of the reasoning behind my not experiencing them now is that I exercise on a regular basis.  Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your overall well-being, and it is especially beneficial during these inevitable midlife changes.  Regular exercise can lessen some of the effects.
If you are not familiar with some of the effects of menopause please read on;

• Changes in menstrual bleeding (as if it was difficult enough, now you may not know when it will appear or not)
• Hot flashes are unbelievable, they pop up from nowhere and can last anywhere from less thank one minute to five.  Some women get embarrassed when they turn red and perspire, don't be its natural.
• Vaginal changes can occur too.  Vaginal dryness may occur and the vaginal wall becomes less elastic and thinner.  Be careful as some of these changes may make you more prone to infections.
• Sleep can be affected and sometimes due to night sweats.  Keeping a good sleep routine and making your room comfortable, cool and dark will help.  Avoid exercise at night if it keeps you awake.
• Memory especially short term can be affected also. 
• Urinary leakage can occur and most importantly can be avoided with some simple exercises.
• Mood changes can occur but most likely by lack of sleep or other stresses in your life.  Sorry ladies you cannot blame menopause for your crappy mood, there are no scientific studies to support it.

If you find any of the above symptoms overbearing or overwhelming talk with your doctor.
If you are not doing a regular exercise routine please get started Now

Outdoor exercise and your mood.

To fix what ails you, take your workout outside.  Of course on a day like today dress for the weather.  New research from England's University of Essex finds that just five minutes of "green exercise"--cycling, gardening, fishing--can boost your mood and self-esteem.  I have had clients say, "I didn't think I would enjoy working out outside", and found that they had an extra boost of energy and even started noticing things around them that never came into focus before. 

The study also concurs with previous research showing that outdoor walks battle depression better than mall walks do.  Other benefits of outdoor activity:

• Greater exposure to health-promoting vitamin D (from the sun)
• Enhanced cognitive functioning
• Increased compassion
• More time outside can mean less time in doctors office

I have a great deal of energy myself and when I am outside I feel my energy level increase.  I haven't always been an outside girl, but you can't keep me inside now.  There are so many different things to do here in Colorado Springs, get out and explore what nature has to offer.  You never know, you may even like it.

I run indoor and outdoor Get Fit classes, mostly indoor now that the weather is turning, but if you have a group of friends that would enjoy or at least want to give it a try, we can create your own Get Fit Class and hit the great outdoors.

Expand your perspective.

You don't have to wait for external circumstances to create perspective-expanding experiences.  You can do so yourself by; visualizing your own wedding or funeral, visualizing your retirement, visualizing how you'd feel if a family member died, and so on.  Steven R Covey

Don't you think it's hard enough to get people and families to make arrangements for their wills, estate planning etc and now he is talking about visualizing your funeral and how people will eulogize you.  If we could all plan our death out so our families don't have to go through some of the hassles that can come up, our families would be able to concentrate on grieving instead.

Visualizing for retirement is not so easy when I am thinking about myself on the beach or in a far away country, but when it comes to being cognitive about how much money I would need and how many bills I would have, the visualizing comes a little harder.

This last one is a hard one, I would just be ripped to pieces if one of my daughters or grand kids passed away and to think about it kind of makes my stomach turn right now. 

What I take away from this is, go ahead and talk to your family, spouse, and friends.  Bring up different scenarios to kind of put it out there.  What do you think would happen and maybe just discussing the issues would take some of the scariness away.  You can plan all you want though and you really don't know how you would react when the actual time comes.

Educate and obey your conscience.

To keep progressing, you must learn, commit, and do--learn, commit, and do--and learn, commit, and do all over again.  Steven R Covey

I love to learn new things and experience new adventures, do you?  What a challenge to step outside the box and do something that you have thought about for years or maybe even something on your bucket list.  I came out here to colorado springs a couple years ago on vacation before moving out here and boy did I step out of my comfort zone.  While I was here I rode a bicycle down pikes peak 19 miles in the rain.  I now know I was crazy, but at the time what an experience it was and exhilirating too.  This summer I finally drove my jeep up pikes peak, omg I would have never ridden down had I reversed the process and drove up first. 

Learn something new this month, make a commitment to yourself (not anyone else) and then DO IT.  Don't just keep wasting the days wondering what it would be like to....?  Now you don't have to get too crazy, but step outside your little box and you would be amazed what you can do and how you will feel.