Fasting has long been a method of cleansing, a religious right of passage and championed as a way to better health since ancient times. Ramadan in Islam and regular fasting festivals in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lent in the Christian calendar; the dogma of fasting and abstaining from food has been widely applied and advocated across history and cultures.. Indeed even the Paleolithic man would have periods of fasting due to necessity - ie there was no food around.
Nutrition, its a key element in a healthy living ethos and always a most
important aspect if you are wanting to maintain health and happiness.
I've always been fond of my food. Indeed a Director once informed me
that it was 'always safer to approach when you had food in your hands'.
But as with all manner of business owners and busy schedule work
people, the hectic daily operations of managing time schedules and being
'on call' means that often you get to the end of the day and realise -
"oops, I forgot to eat"
Ok, so its been enough time on the sidelines of the training regime. Enough time spending leisurely afternoons pootling home with no haste, or easy mornings on the balcony with that second coffee. There comes a point where you can begin to feel the body seizing up and starting to wear from workplace hazards and too much time spent in front of computers. That point is also usually associated with a slight feeling of having a paunch forming somewhere around the abdomen.
Playing in a sports tournament where you are playing 'above' your normal level, can sometimes teach you some interesting lessons about yourself and how you operate 'under pressure'. Tell tale signs of how you might be able to push the bar a little higher and when to recognise that you are sitting pretty in 'comfort land'.
A recent shoulder injury led me to a struggle with my training regime. Injury always does pose a challenge to consistency and continuation of your normal physical regime. As a ballet master once said to me, "injury is a chance to learn more about how to use your body, better and more efficiently". SO, after spending a few weeks feeling sorry for myself and letting motivation swing wildly in the wind,
Are you taking care of your spine? Hours spent in front of a desk can often lead to a flattening of the lumbar curve for long periods of time. The problem with this is that the spine relies on a series of curves to maintain alignment and balance of other structures. Mainly the neck.
Too often I see issues in clients (primarily knees/hips/lower back) that have been brought about by strain and wear on tendons/muscles where half range of motion has resulted in excessive weight bearing in compromised positions, not allowing muscles and joints to work within a full Range of Motion (ROM).
All too often I have been asked and talked to about stretching and how to get better flexibility. Like any form of physical conditioning, flexibility is all about consistency. If you are not consistent with training (yes flexibility is as much training as doing sprints or lifting weights) then you will not achieve gains.
This is my first venture into the website world for MAXTherapy in its own right. As many of you know, I have been involved with Sydney Bodywork Massage Centre for almost 5 years now in Sydney and have been working around various locations before settling on taking up residence at Fernleigh on 'Level 3'.
As I have been treating here, both I and my clients have noticed how this space is far different from what I have in the CBD clinic as well as the style of treatments. As I work more from this space I am more reminded of the work that I used to do when I first began in the massage industry.
The balance between mind and body having time out and really allowing that 'parasympathetic state' to do it's work is paramount to really taking the time out to effect not only physical, but mental clarity and inner health. The effects of Parasympathetic State on the internal organs and functions such as digestion and immune regeneration is well documented and it is this type of work that I am trying to achieve more of in this space.
So I hope you enjoy the different style of what I do in this incarnation and appreciate the space for the intimate treasure that it is.
Look forward to seeing you here soon.
Peter
