Archive for the ‘Helpful Hints’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on December 17, 2011
I am so impress I have to share AND comment:
I love the list of 25 clever ideas to make life easier. So amazing. Some of the ideas I have seen before, some of them were new to me. The are all pretty awesome. I love the straw and strawberry idea. Kind of funny using a straw to “pit” a strawberry. Saves you from having to buy a tool for it. Someone try the walnut on the wood and tell me if it REALLY works. And for how long? I mean I am thinking that it is just the oil from the walnut that moisturizes the wood so the scratch is concealed. I bet you could use any oil to do that. Regarding the TV, I guess if you HAVE to get crayon marks off a TV or computer screen you would be desperate enough to try WD-40. Otherwise no way. I can’t imagine putting WD-40 on a monitor.
I do know how to get crayon or wax off the carpet. It might even work for other fabric. Use an iron and a paper bag or any type of rough paper. Put the paper bag over the crayon/wax and then run the hot iron over it. The heat from the iron melts the crayon/wax and the paper absorbs it. If it is a lot of crayon/wax it is not a quick fix, but it works. I had a melted candle spill onto carpet once and I was able to get it all up with this method. But it took me a couple of weeks. I didn’t sit there for long, long periods of time. I would probably do a bag at a time. Eventually it all came up.
I love the apple idea. I can’t wait to try that. Seems like that would work. The old, “put lemon (or citrus) on it” doesn’t work for me because it DOES leave a lemon taste. I don’t care for my apples to taste like lemon. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to pull out a pillow case full of the entire sheet set? I like that idea, but my hubby does do the sheets like shown here and he gets them completely flat. I have mentioned before how I can’t tell the difference between the flat sheet and the fitted sheet.
The bowl does kind of help the volume of the iPhone. But you may know I have a little blue speaker, so I don’t need a bowl. Ingenious use of a wet-wipe container–storing plastic bags in it, but I just use a plastic bag to store my plastic bags and it works pretty good too!
I really want to hear from you to know if some of these things really work. Can you really get sand off your skin by using baby powder? Then how do you get the baby powder off? Sand? Or water? Which you could have just used to get the sand off in the first place, right?
I would imagine that putting a velcro strip on the wall could help store a lot of things besides just soft toys in a child’s room. Ok, I LOVE the wrapping paper idea. It is pretty smart to use the ceiling of a closet to store wrapping paper, but my closet ceilings are REALLY high. I actually have a wrapping paper holder that hangs in my closet.
I have heard of using a nylon over a vacuum cleaner hose to find stuff. GREAT idea! I recently heard of cutting Xs in a shirt box to make a cupcake holder. Another GREAT idea. I love the magnetic strip for storing bobby pins, but I honestly didn’t realize that other people used bobby pins any longer. Shoes in a shower cap. Great idea. I use plastic bags. The ones that the newspaper come in. Or ones that might be around certain product you buy.
Plastic cups in a muffin tin held in place by a magnet as a craft caddy . . . . dare I say it? That is pretty crafty! Love the use of bread bag closure things as power cord labels. That is smart. But my bread comes with wire twists. I have seen the ice cream cone cup cake thing before. Have you ever tried that? I have a friend that told me about popcorn in a regular paper bag in the microwave. However I don’t buy paper bags and I have never wanted to put my food in one that I might have gotten from a store purchase. A tension rod to hold spray bottles is a nice idea, but my cupboards aren’t that tall. Are yours? Mine could have hanging bottles AND stuff on the “floor”.
If I made hard boiled eggs, I would so try making them heart shaped. But I don’t. I also don’t have such fancy muffin tins. But I bet it would work with regular muffins tins. Aloe Vera in ice cube trays. Oh my. Will someone remind me of this when I get a sunburn? This is GREAT. Think of how wonderful that would feel. I hear angels singing. Gutters as planters. Nice idea. And it is brilliant to use egg cartons to hold ornaments. Fantastic!
So that is my take on the list. What about you? Have you tried any of these ideas before? Are you going to? I really want to know about the walnut and how long that lasts.
Posted in Misc, Helpful Hints | Tagged: iphone, wrapping paper, clever ideas, Daily Buzz, pit a strawberry, get wax pout of carpet, WD-40, keep apple from browning, how to fold a fitted sheet, cupcake holder, hard boiled eggs, velcro | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 13, 2011
Almost a year ago one of my Nia students let me borrow a book, Conditioning for Dance. Even though I had it for a week I didn’t take time to look at it in-depth. But I like what I saw enough to buy the book. A year later and I still have not looked at it in-depth, but again, when I pick it up and thumb through it, pausing to read here and there I love what I see. Eric Franklin’s idea coincide a lot with Nia and many mind body practices. I touched upon this in my original post Dance Conditioning.
The ideas he has shared in this book are somewhat like the Nia White Belt Principles in that they can be applied to more than just the workout or the technique, they can be applied to life. In th beginning portion of the book Franklin talks about how sometimes when dancers are unable to perform a step, often the first thought is it is because the dancer is not strong enough. So the dancer then works to build strength in the muscles required to do the particular step. But it is not always because they are not strong enough, sometimes it is because they have other issues. So getting stronger to power through the move will not necessarily allow them to do the move correctly, but it allows the issues to be reinforced. If you are doing something incorrectly because of other issues continuing to do it without resolving those issues just enforces the issues.
His tips in regards to the above can be applied to life.
-When doing a task sense your body. Learn to recognize when it is out of alignment or what behavior causes it to be out of alignment then practice doing that same task in a different way that allows your body to stay in alignment.
I know so many people who are in physical pain, it is my belief that many of them are because we do things without thinking and we do things that actually cause our bodies to be out of alignment. When sitting at your desk at work do a body check. Are you sitting up or are you slouched over? Are your legs crossed? Is your mouse so far away from your hand that you have to lean forward and/or really extend your arm? These types of things that we do over and over and actually work our bodies into a state of misalignment. I remember walking into a friend’s cube while she was working and after watching for a second I asked her what she was doing? She responded that she didn’t know what I was talking about. I said she was having to practically get out of her chair as she leaned forward to use her mouse. She looked confused and then shrugged. I suggested she move her mouse pad closer to her and she shrugged and did. No, my friend is not stupid, she was just focused on working and never stopped to really think about her body and its alignment. She just “did” because that was the way it was. There are probably a lot of things — little things, just like that — we can do to help our body’s alignment. Just sense your body as you go through your daily tasks.
-Imagine yourself doing the task. Imagine all that it will require to complete the job then go through it mentally. While imagining, sense the muscles that are used.
This is an easy one to apply to everyday. Whatever it is that you want to do imagine doing it beforehand and it will help you be aware of your body before you even begin the task. And this could also allow you to think of things that might slow you down if you had not thought of it before had. It will allow you to be better prepared.
-Seek the help of experts.
People that have done what you want to do before are always a great resource in life.
-Think positive. If there are problems or issues think about them work to find solutions, but don’t dwell on them and allow them to affect your performance.
Thinking positive is a great tool and becoming so much more widely accepted as actually having benefit. Everyone has problems. Thinking positive doesn’t mean you don’t have problems it just means you don’t dwell on them.
-Work on flexibility making sure it the body is balanced.
In life it is good to be flexible, but you also need to have balance. Can’t be so flexible you become wishy-washy.
-Participate in strength training and do exercise that will help you reach your goal.
Strength training has so many benefits in everyday life, it is good for anyone at any age.
-Find ways to increase alignment without causing tension.
Everyone has different ideas on how to be aligned and in balance. But it should become a source of great stress in your life, so try to find ways to be balanced that will add to the ease and relaxation.
In his book Franklin goes into more detail and relates it specifically to dance. Here I was using my own words and trying to “vague it” up a bit so that it would be obvious how dance training tips could be applied directly to anyone’s life.
So amazing. I am always amazed how our Nia White Belt Principles that we use in our dance practice can be applied to life. But then, to me, that is what makes it a practice. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised . . . and I really wasn’t, I was excited, that these tips for dance could be applied to more than just dance conditioning.
Posted in Dancing, Helpful Hints | Tagged: Conditioning for Dance, dance conditioning tips, dance training, Eric Franklin, flexibility, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia Practice, Nia students, Nia White Belt Principles, strength training | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 11, 2011
I never wanted an iPod or a cell phone until I started teaching Nia. After I got it, I realized how great it is to be able to create playlists from Nia routine music and not have to burn a CD. Same thing with a cell phone, I have a business so I have a cell phone. I don’t really need a cell phone, but a business does. A business needs to have a number to use for business. Which brings me to . . . when I first met my husband he was a “Mac” man. Always had been, always would be . . . . . until, that is, we moved in next door to a guy who gave us a computer that was not a Mac. Then all of a sudden my hubby had something new to learn. He decided to learn how to put computer components together to make a personal computer. He realized that he could buy all the parts and put it together for a lot less than a Mac costs. PLUS the money spent would allow him a machine that would be faster and more powerful than the least expensive Mac. So we got rid of our Macs. Then the iPhone came out. At about that time I was thinking about getting a cell phone and I would need something to play music AND . . . . it was a new toy for hubby to have. So we got iPhones and they stoked the burning embers of love for Apple that had never actually gone out in my hubby’s heart. THEN he started working at a Mac company . . . you know one of those companies whose computers are Macs and not the “other” ones. Then there is the iPad. (eyes rolling). Whenever I have a problem with either of my “i-s”, my hubby says, “Well did you flash it?”
When we first got our iPhones, they had a few issues or kinks, whatever you call them it would often not work properly. My husband being familiar with Macs figured out how to “Flash” the phone. He said it resets the parameter random access memory. This is the memory that is stored which allows the for quick start-up. Since my iPhone frequently went squirrelly back then, I got really used to doing it. I would do it probably at least once a week without being prompted. Then with one of the updates it went away. It either went away and then came back with another update or it changed. I actually think it went away, then came back different. The way the device responded when flashed was different so it seemed as if it was not going to actually do it. Whatever the actual case was, I got out of the habit. Plus the phone stopped being so buggy. So not only did it change so I thought the option of Flashing wasn’t there, I didn’t need to do it that often. So I forget that I can do it and sometimes need to do it.
Have you ever worked for a company that has an IT department? When you have a computer issue what is the first thing the IT department asks you to do or ask you if you did it? “Turn it off then turn it back on.” Right? And then even once you do that, if they have to come to your work area to work on the computer that is the first thing they will do again. So we are all used to turning electronics off than on again, right? That is the FIRST thing we do. Well, flashing it is not quite turning it off and then turning it on. It resets the PRAM.
Yesterday I wanted to listen to the music for a Nia routine for class, I plugged my little iHome Speaker into my iPad and it didn’t work. I rolled my eyes and thought, “Well so much for that.” I got my iPhone to see if the speaker worked with that. It did. So I plugged my earbuds into the iPad to see if they worked. They didn’t. So I just figured I broke it somehow. I mentioned it to my hubby when he was on his way home from work and he said, “Did you flash it?” I felt so silly for not having done it that I said, “Well, of course I did because that is always the first thing you ask.” And then I went on to say that I didn’t and I hung my head like a scolded puppy.
I forgot about it until today and guess what? Of course. I flashed the iPad and my speaker works. I got so caught up in telling my story that I almost forgot the point of this post—to tell you how to flash your phone. Sometimes the rewritable section of memory get to full or a little messed up so it needs to be reset. For the iPhone and the iPad, you hold the On/Off button down at the same time as the Home button. Hold them both down until the screen goes blank AND the Apple logo appears. Then let go and let the device do its thing. Then it will be ready to wake up again shortly. See if that works for you the next time your iPhone or iPad is acting buggy. I don’t know if works for the other iProducts. But it has always worked for mine . . . . . when I remember to do it. 
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: apple, iHome, iHome Speaker, iPad, iphone, iPod, Mac, Nia, Nia business, Nia class, Nia playlists, Nia routines, Nia Teacher, parameter random access memory, PC, personal computer, PRAM | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 3, 2011
I’ve talked about resistance bands being great for strength training. The other day after having taught a Nia class with a lot of sumo stances in it AND after having done some weighted squats, I really needed to stretch. I needed a really deep stretch and as I was trying to think of how to get it I remembered I could use my resistance bands for stretching. The resistance bands I have are long flat sheets of rubber. I don’t have the ones that are like rubber bands or tubes. Mine don’t have handles. Any type of band made for exercising will do. There are so many ways to stretch using a band. I will just name a few in this post and maybe do another post at another time.
The first one you probably have done when you pick up a band is just to hold it in each hand and let your arms “fall” to the side. Obviously your arms don’t actually fall because you are holding the band, but you can feel the stretch in your arms and shoulders. The great thing about bands is you can make the tension however you need it to be by the way you hold the band. If you need a really deep stretch make the band really short and either pull or let your arms “fall”. If you want a gentle stretch then hold the band closer to the ends.
Holding opposite ends of the band and allowing your arms to fall behind your body really allows for a stretch in the upper arms, shoulders, upper back and neck.
You can do side bends with an end of the band in each hand holding your arms above your head. Again sensing the stretch in your shoulders and upper back, but with this stretch you also get your sides. Using the band for this stretch allows for a much greater stretch than without the band.
For the legs there are a few I want to share. Sit down on the ground, fold the band in half then put your foot in the band at the fold, hold one side of the band in each hand. Then lay down, keeping your foot flexed, bring your straight leg with the foot in the band up as far as you can. Keep your other leg straight out on the floor. Adjusting the tension of the band gives you the stretch you need. You can bring your leg straight up and closer to your face for an even greater stretch. The closer you pull your leg to your face the greater the stretch in the hamstrings and even calf.
Still lying on your back with your leg up and still holding the band let your leg fall ACROSS your body. This is a further stretch for the hamstrings and gets the outer thigh. With this stretch – again – using the band to pull your leg closer to your head gives you a bigger stretch. Hold the end of the band in the hand opposite the direction your leg is going, while the hand on the side of where your foot is gently pulls the leg towards your head. Remember to be mindful of what you are sensing, often a stretch will cause discomfort but the muscles need to be stretched especially after a workout. But pain is different than discomfort, so be aware of what sensation is present.
Another stretch you can do is from the same position of laying on your back, with your foot through the band, leg in the air, foot flexed, but this time let the straight leg fall away from your body. With this stretch the hand opposite the side your stretching leg holds the end of the band and the hand on the side of the stretching leg can gently pull the leg towards your head. This stretch allows you to really sense the stretch in the inner thigh. The closer your leg gets to the floor the more your inner thigh gets stretch. And at the same time you can gently pull your leg towards your head enable the back of the leg to be stretched too.
Bands are such a great way to get some assisted stretching in without having to have another person there to help you. It is like proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) by yourself. As I mentioned before, please be mindful and aware of what your body is saying. Discomfort at a tolerable level is acceptable but pain is not.
Posted in Helpful Hints | Tagged: assisted stretching, deep stretch, exercise, exercise bands, gentle stretch, hamstring stretch, Hamstrings, inner thigh, Nia class, PNF, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, resistance bands, rubber bands, squats, strength training, stretch, sumo stances, tubes | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 25, 2011
I was thinking one day, “there has to be something online that can give calories for a recipe. And hopefully there is a free version.” There is. Cool. Maybe you had thought about this before, I know I have, but I just rememberd this week. I usually just kind of tally the ingredients and divide using a calculator, but I realized there has to be something online so I Googled it and came up with a few.
FitWatch Recipe Analyzer lets you label the recipe and then you input the number of servings, then you enter each ingredient separately. You can enter all the ingredients on its own separate line, then click “Search For All Ingredients” or you can search as you go along after you enter each ingredient. After you click “search” the program will bring up a list of ingredients from which you can scroll down and select the one you want. After each selection the screen flashes and then gives you measurement options. Each time you make a selection the screen flashes. There are only twelve spaces, so you can only enter up to twelve ingredients. After you are done it supplies you with amount of calories, water, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fat, and saturated fat, cholesterol, and dietary fibre. It also gives you a breakdown of vitamins and minerals measurements. Very nice. Also gives you the option to print it in a nice format. But the input is somewhat awkward, because of the constant flashing. I kept thinking my computer or internet browser was going out or down. Took me until about the eighth ingredient to get used to it. Then I skipped an ingredient and I wanted them to be in order because I was not sure what information I would get and I didn’t know the format, so I thought it would be easier to just have it in the same order as the recipe. Going back and inputting the ingredient again really made the screen flash.
Calorie Count has you input the number of servings, then you can copy the entire list of ingredients into one box. That was so quick and easy and AWESOME! Then it gives you the calorie break down of each ingredient and gives it a grade. It allows you to add a new item and edit the recipe. It gives the option to log a serving and save a recipe, but I am not signed up so I didn’t do either one of those things. So I am not sure if after having done one of those things if you get an option to print. The format the nutrition info is presented in does not copy and paste very well. In addition to the calorie count and grade of each ingredient it gives you the Nutrition facts in the common format that is on many product labels. Under the “label” it gives you a nutritional analysis such as “Bad points: •High in saturated fat •High in sugar •Contains alcohol” and “Good Points: •Low in sugar •High in manganese •High in niacin •High in phosphorus •High in selenium •High in vitamin B6″. But it does not give you measurements nor percentages on all of the things mentioned in this analysis.
Spark People’s recipe analyzer makes you enter each ingredient and then search their data base for the closest match. Its breakdown of the nutrition in the recipe includes: amount of calories, total fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber and sugars, and protein. This recipe analyzer/calculator gives you a breakdown of vitamins and minerals in percentages. Its nutrition information is in a printable format like the first one. This site also allows you to save the recipe if you are a member as with Calorie Count.
Really nifty. I bet there are even more out there. This is a different way of checking the nutrition in our diet, instead of inputting it all in a food diary/log/tracker/counter, you can do entire recipes. I want to remind you even though I say it often, we all have different goals so we certainly have different nutritional needs. These sites are just more tools that we can use to meet our goals and our nutritional needs.
So, I am curious to know if you were surprised at the information after you entered your favorite recipe? Well, were you?
Posted in "Recipes", Helpful Hints | Tagged: Calorie Count, calorie counter, calories, cholesterol, dietary fiber, fitness goals, FitWatch Recipe Analyzer, health goals, minerals, monounsaturated fat, nutritional needs, polyunsaturated fat, Potassium, protein, recipe calculations, recipe calculator, recipe nutrition analyzer, saturated fat, sodium, Spark People, total carbohydrates, total fat, vitamins | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 9, 2011
I have potholders and oven mitts that I don’t really want to use as potholders. Ya know, they could be those ones that you received as a gift and they are pretty, but when you use them and realize that they aren’t really as useful as they are pretty because you can still feel the heat/burn through it. Or you bought them as part of a set of hand towels, so they really are just for show because they are too thin to use. Why yes, you COULD get rid of them. But I would NEVER think to do that. (See my last post where I state I have a house full of stuff.) There are other uses for potholders. If they are really pretty but too thin to use to keep the heat away from your hand you can use them for other things. Or if you accidentally touched the oven element and just one little corner is singed you could use it for something else. Some times the pretty ones work very well as trivets. You might want to use them when company is over. You just set them out and then place the hot dish on them. Perfect. The slightly singed one can be used as a trivit too. It is really the surface that you are setting something hot (or even cold) on that you are trying to protect. It doesn’t have to be pretty.
What they can also be used for is separating your pots and pans. There are protectors specifically made for that. I have some of those too (that is what the blue one is on the bottom), but I have a lot of potholders that have come with towel sets that aren’t that great as potholders. I also have a few that I have connected with the oven element with. In fact right after I took this picture one of the cat ones suffered that fate. So I use them to separate my pots and pans. I have found that along with the dishwasher the pots and pans scratch each other up a bit. So I put the potholders in between. I believe this annoys my hubby and I am sorry for that, because it really does help protect the pots and pans. I think having a glass top stove has made me a little more aware of what is on the bottom of my pans. A glass top is much easier to clean – to me – than a spiral element stove, but it helps if you start of with a pot/pan with a clean bottom. Also it shouldn’t have any rough edges or gouges in it that can scratch the glass. So I just like to use layer of protection between my pots and pans.
With the pots I try to get the pot holder to protect both the bottom of the pot and the handle. We have some pots with handles coated in a thin layer of plastic and the pot edges scratch it off. So I try to put the pots in with the potholder sticking over the edge. Works with big potholders, but not really the small ones.
So if you are like me and you wanna try to keep you pots looking nice and keep them smooth for the stove, you don’t like to throw “perfectly good things away”, and you like to find new/other uses for things this might be one of those things that helps you.
What about you? Any of you really crafty people have another way potholders can be put to use?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: glass top stove, new uses for old things, oven mitts, pan protectors, Pot holders, pot protectors, potholders, pots and pans | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 30, 2011
YAY! So happy I did it again. I had henna tattoos done in time for the Nia Jam. It had been way too long since my first henna tattoos. I have wanted to do it again since then. It just so happened that we were going to a party on Saturday night and the Nia Jam was on Sunday so it was the perfect time to get my feet done. It has been suggested that I need to love my healing foot more. Sometimes I don’t love it since it doesn’t work properly. I thought if I had henna done it would at least make me think it was pretty. I was right. Henna and Beyond does beautiful work so I think my feet look very pretty.
I had the henna done on Thursday afternoon. The henna can come off as soon as it is dried but the longer you leave it on the better the stain. The henna is squeezed onto your skin via a cone, like a small icing bag. As I mentioned in my post when I had henna done before, henna is applied and it rests on the skin like puffy paint would. It is best to leave it on your skin until dried. The longer you leave it on the darker the tattoo will be.
Rachna has printed information, but I didn’t want to take it and waste the paper because I pretty much knew what to expect. I read the information to be sure, then asked if it was on her site because I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember it exaclty. The lengths of time were a little different on the paper than that which are on the site, but they are just guidelines so you’ll have an idea of what to do. Both the paper and the website state that it is best to leave the puffy-like henna on for at least 2 hours. The paper said up to 12 hours. I am not sure why not past 12 hours, but it worked out that it was exactly 12 hours after having it done that I was ready to take it off. I slept with socks on so I wouldn’t get henna all over the bed. While not a lot of henna dropped off in the socks, I can’t say that it would not have in the bed. It could be that the socks kept it secure.
When I got up I was able to brush most of it off with just my hand. The rest I just scratched off with my nails, although she recommends using the smooth side of a butter knife. The information says that 24 hours after it is applied it will be darkest. Hmmm? Here is a picture of mine about 26 hours after. The information also said to apply oil because it will make it darker. Really? Ok. It said any cooking oil would do, but I have some moisturizing olive oil, plus some Arnica Allay. I used both. I put the Arnica Ally on my toes and the olive oil on the rest of the art. I have applied it a couple of times. And here is what it looks like exactly a week later.
I am happy. I think Rachna does a beautiful job. After looking at her books of samples I told her the designs I liked and the ones I didn’t and this is what she came up with. Brilliant! She free-handed all this and designed it as she went along.
I have also included a picture of what it looks like today. Which is a week and two days after having it done. You might notice that this time it is much darker than last time I had the henna tattoos. There are several things that could be the reason for that. One, I let it completely dry this time. Last time I did something very silly (so silly I will not even mention it here) thinking it would help keep the flaking henna from getting all over the place. What actually helps it from flaking all over is to let it dry and to not bump it off. It stays on pretty secure. Also, Rachna said that she now mixes the lemon and sugar* into the henna and so that could be another reason. And the oil, I really think applying the olive oil helped make it darker. In the pictures today I actually have a “coat” of olive oil them so they might even look shiny.
Yay! I am so happy. One of the reasons I had hesitated in doing henna tattoos again is I remember the henna flaking off and getting everywhere, but this time it didn’t. I am sure that has to do with me following her tips. I kept telling myself, “She’s been doing this for almost 30 years. I really need to trust she knows what she is talking about with all of her little tricks and tips.” And I did, and it is awesome!
*According to her website this is a mixture you make and apply that acts as a sealant.
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: apply oil to henna stain, dark henna stain, flaking henna, Henna, Henna and Beyond, henna feet, henna skin, henna stain, henna tattoo tips, Henna Tattoos, Nia, Nia Jam, puff paint, Rachna, tattoo | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 7, 2011
While I was doing a Nia DVD today, I kept sensing some discomfort in my back. I have a spot, a muscle I guess, that sometimes becomes “whiny”. I think that particular spot on my back, directly next to my backbone to the right, right at the edge of my shoulder-blade, holds all of my stress and tension. When it came to the floorplay exercise portion of the Nia workout I was focused on my back. It was really getting my attention. I have had a student assisting me with my toe/foot and she often says she is “releasing it”. I wondered if I could touch my back and “release” it. So I did. I pressed on the spot that was speaking to me so loudly. It seemed to help. I believe in the power of touch. But since it is a place on my back that is needing touch it is not easy for me to get the entire area. While I was laying on the floor I was wishing I had a tennis ball to roll on.
Have you ever heard that? Using a tennis ball to massage your back. I had a friend who mentioned to me that she was told to put a couple of tennis balls in a sock and roll on them. You can roll on them against a wall or on the floor, whichever is most comfortable for you. I had heard to use the balls, but I hadn’t heard of the sock until she mentioned it. The tennis balls could be used to massage more than just your back, you could roll it under your legs or on your arms.
I don’t have tennis ball, but I do have a rather large “super ball”. I don’t know if that is what it is called, but that is what I remember we used to call them when I was young. You know those balls that bounce really well? It is a “The Incredibles” ball. It is kind of old so it is yellowed. It is also really hard. Much more hard than a tennis ball and a little smaller. I remembered that the last time I saw it I had used it for my foot and it was in the entertainment center. How convenient? It was right there. YAY!
At first I tried using it while laying on the floor. That didn’t work so well because it was difficult to roll on the floor without using my elbows which, in doing so, caused me to rise away from the ball. Plus the ball is really hard. So I used it with the wall. I leaned on the ball while it was on the wall. WOW! Awesome. I think the muscle that gets annoyed is small and there was almost a clicking sound as the ball rolled over it. That is how tight and grumpy it was. As I mentioned, I had used the ball on my feet before, it is a great foot massagerm just rolling it under my foot, but I hadn’t used it on my back. Glad I thought of that.
So what do you think? Have you heard of using tennis balls to massage sore muscles? Have you ever tried it? Do you use the sock method? Oh do tell, I would love to hear about it. It could definitely help with DOMS. What do you say?
Posted in Helpful Hints | Tagged: back discomfort, back massage, DOMS, floor exercises, floorplay, massage, muscle discomfort, muscle pain, Nia, Nia DVD, Nia exercises, Nia workout, sore muscles, sore muscles massage, tennis ball massage, tension in the back | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 31, 2011
The doctor in my Nia Class had given me the homeopathic medicine, Trauma. I really liked it so I asked for more. She said that she likes Traumeel, so I agreed to try it. Both of them say they relieve the same things (muscular pain, sprains, pulls, and bruises). The first ingredient in the Traumeel is Calendula officinalis, which is the fourth ingredient in Trauma and it shows “Garden Marigold” in parenthesis. This ointment has a lot of the same ingredients as Trauma but they are in a different order. So this ointment is very similar to the Trauma.
It is a bit greasy and has a slight odor. I just put some of it on along with some Trauma for comparison. After I put the Traumeel on I had to wash my hand. It is not extremely greasy but just greasy enough that I can’t just rub it into my hand. I am actually not convinced it works as well as the Truama. It actually smells like medicine, somewhat like a band-aid, it is not a strong odor, but compared to the Trauma it is strong because Trauma has absolutely NO odor at all.
When I was talking to my Nia student about Traumeel she mentioned that they have an oral medicine that can be taken. My Nia friend mentioned it too, in the comments of the post regarding Trauma. I was able to find informatnoi on the internet, Trauma has an oral medicine too. I have not taken either medicine orally.
Posting about these products is my way of getting information to people. I am sharing my opinion on the products so that you can learn something about them and then decide for yourself which one you might be interested in using yourself if you are interested in homeopathic medicine. I also welcome my readers sharing what they know. Having readers comment and share is the best part.
I have concluded that I like the Trauma better. I feel it works, whereas I don’t get the same sense from the Traumeel. As stated in this post, I put them both on. I put the Traumeel on my knee (which gets tired from my odd gait) and I put the Trauma on my toe (foot and a few other toes). My toes and foot feel nice, but my knee feels the same. The Traumeel is a bit greasy, whereas I think the Trauma is more of a soft cream that actually moisturized the area I have used it on. I smell a slight odor with the Traumeel but nothing with the Trauma.
Have any of you tried them both? Any of you tried either? What are your thoughts?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: bruises, Calendula officinalis, Garden Marigold, homeopathic medicine, homeopathic ointment, muscular pain, Nia class, Nia student, pulls, sprains, Trauma, Traumeel | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 29, 2011
There seems to be so many reasons one can get hiccups they don’t really know what EXACTLY causes them. What happens when you have the hiccups is the diaphragm contracts repeatedly. Sometimes when we suck air in really fast we make the “hic” sound. I know sometimes I have very loud hiccups. Sometimes they are so strong they hurt. I don’t really like the hiccups, they are disruptive. There are many remedies to get rid of the hiccups. I have one that I use and it works EVERY SINGLE TIME.
One remedy is to eat a package of sugar . . . . at least that is one that I know of. A package of sugar is less than a teaspoon. I have never tried it, but my husband, the person that told me about it, has used this method. He said it works.
My sure-fire cure for the hiccups is drinking water. The trick is to drink the water with your ears plugged. So you either need someone to help you or you need a straw. Plug your ears and drink through the straw or have someone plug your ears for you. I drink as much water as I can before I have to take a breath of air. They go way . . . . every time. I have never had this method fail me.
What is your method? Or what have you heard of? What have you tried that didn’t work?
On an unrelated note — please remember my Nia Class in Los Gatos where I will be collecting donations for the American Cancer Society – Relay for Life is April 17th. If you are local, I hope to see you there.
Posted in Misc, Helpful Hints | Tagged: Nia class, Los Gatos Nia, Nia Los Gatos, Relay For Life, hiccup, hiccup cure, hiccups, contracting diaphragm, diaphragm contractions, painful hiccups, loud hiccups, disruptive hiccups, hiccup remedy, sugar hiccup remedy, donations for American Cancer Society, workout in Los Gatos | 6 Comments »
Terre Pruitt
