Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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    I am also available for private Nia / yoga / Personal Training all virtual, of course!

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My Love Has Not Faded

Posted by terrepruitt on March 11, 2020

This is somewhat of an update from a previous post. I love Zheng Gu Shui. My husband first learned about it years ago when he was participating in Jujitsu. When we first started using it, there was not a lot of information – in English – included in the package . . . in fact, there wasn’t a package it was just the bottle. But now it comes in a box with an insert and it is being touted as an analgesic.

The main marketing seems to be “sports pain relief” so use it to help sore muscles after a workout. Well, since DOMS is part of the process in which the body changes, I personally don’t use it for that. But, I see how that might be something people want relief from. Since, as I mentioned, there used to not be any information with the product, I didn’t realize it is an analgesic. To me it actually helps bruises and “things” heal so that is what I use it for. That could be another reason it could be used for “sports pain relief” . . . it might help a body heal from that.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaAs I have stated over and over, it really is great. I think my bruises heal much quick when I use this then they would on their own. Also, YES, I did have some muscle soreness – although not form working out – and I used it and my arm felt so much better after. I recently had some blood drawn and the area started to bruise, now I do not put it on open wounds or even healing cuts, but I put it on the surrounding area. It helped a lot. The other “things” I was referring to might be an over-used, sore joint, it is not a bruise but something that might want some attention.  Also, recently I strained my neck and it was so uncomfortable I decided to put Zheng Gu Shui on it.  I put it all the way up into my hair where the muscle started.  What is so funny is that I told a friend I had never done that before . . . geez louise, I just read my first Zheng Gu Shui post and I posted about it.  Well, it was ELEVEN YEARS ago, apparently I forgot!

Sadly – and I am assuming it is because it is being marketed for “sports pain relief” – the price has more than doubled. It used to be under four dollars, now it is it ten.

If you choose to use it do heed the warnings about mucus membranes or sensitive areas of the skin like insides of knees and elbows. Also keep in mind that if light skinned it may discolor your skin. Also, it may dry out your skin. Discoloration and dryness happens to me.

I constantly find myself turning to this to help me heal and I feel it works.

Do you have an ointment, salve, or lotion you turn to to help you heal and/or feel better?

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Classes Are Still Happening

Posted by terrepruitt on March 9, 2020

Sigh. I usually don’t post about the latest things going on in the news because that is not what my blog is about. Usually. I don’t USUALLY post about current events because I often feel that is just a way people try to get traffic to their blog . . . but in this case – the COVID-19 case – I am getting a lot of questions from students. You may or may not know that I teach classes. I teach Nia, yoga, and stretch. All of these things can be done at home, but there are several reasons people gather to do them. One reason – especially for Nia – is the energy, it is much more fun dancing in a room with other people than it is at home on your own. Another reason is motivation; it is much easier to actually do it (Nia, yoga, stretch) when you have paid for a class and made a commitment. Another reason is just the plain social aspect of it. Most of my classes have people that are friends and we care what is going on in each others’ lives. So since I teach in a class room setting I have students asking me about classes.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, Zoom meetings, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yogaFirst of all, all of the places I work (City of San Jose, the YMCA, and even the dance studio) are taking extra precautions by cleaning things more often than normal. I have received e-mails from both the City of San Jose and the YMCA stating that both are working with the health department. Everyone is working together to find a way to navigate through this time.

As you know the best defense is hand washing. Wash your hands as soon as you can after you touch anything outside your home. Using hand sanitizer is second to hand washing and at this point I hear there isn’t anywhere you can buy it so those of you that have bought it, use it. But washing your hands with soap and water is still the best defense. It takes soap (or 60% alcohol) to break through the outer lipid membrane layer of the virus.

Also, try to keep your hands away from your face. This virus gets to us through our lungs so you don’t want it near your mouth and nose so it can have a chance to infect you.

Follow all the stuff you hear to do that is from reputable sources, I did not mean for this post to end up with me telling you what to do because I am not an expert at all. This post is meant to clear up some information around the classes.

The City of San Jose has decided to cancel some of the Active Adult (Senior) Classes at some of the community centers. Their focus is on LARGE classes. The more people in a room the more chances of infection. The closer people are the more chance of viruses spreading. So, they have cancelled LARGE Active Adult (Senior) classes. If you attend a small class with few people then – as of Monday, March 09, 2020 – the class is not being cancelled. I have not heard of a cancellation of any of the non-senior classes.

The yoga classes and the stretch class I teach at the community centers are small enough that we have plenty of room to spread out and not cough on anyone – and, by the way, if you have a cough – stay home!

The YMCA has not yet cancelled any classes that I know of. But I am talking primarily about the three branches that I work at and my classes.

Keep in mind that things can change. If you attend any of my classes please check my website frequently for updates. If my schedule changes I will send out an e-mail, but my site will be updated faster and first.

I personally feel that the media is all about fear-mongering. It is as if they think it is their job to cause fear and panic. But, I also understand this is serious and we don’t really know how it will turn out. I mean, if people would have just followed the safety guidelines in the first place it might not be as bad as it is. And since that seems to be such a challenge who knows what will end up happening. What you need to do is what is best for you. We all have our own unique situations and psyches so you need to protect yourself. You need to feel safe and comfortable. If not attending a class make you more comfortable then don’t. And we can all be kind and respect whatever it is that each person needs to do to feel safe.

Is there anything you are doing different than usual to feel safe?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Wine And Flowers

Posted by terrepruitt on March 6, 2020

To say I was out of commission last Friday so I didn’t post a Friday Photo, would be an understatement . . .  but I am back in commission now so here is a pretty little bouquet. This is from back in January at the Big Dog winery. I love flowers. This is a sweet little bouquet. Such great colors, huh?

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They Say Variety Is The Spice . . .

Posted by terrepruitt on March 4, 2020

So recently I went out to dinner and I ordered a farro and kale salad. I was craving greens and it sounded interesting. It was delicious. On a quick search to see the nutrient values of farro I saw a lot of information stating you can switch it out for rice or pasta. Why not, right? So I was thinking it is “grainier” than rice and it might make a good substitute. Since it seems more like a seed than pasta I was thinking it might be good to switch out orzo for farro, but . . . sometimes it really depends on what you are looking for. Remember, food is there to provide us with nutrients so even foods deemed as “healthy” could not be what you need at the moment. Again, it all depends on what you are looking for.

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Portion: values per 100g

Energy 375 kcal
Protein 12.5 g
Total lipid (fat) 1.79 g
Carbohydrate, by difference 78.57 g
Fiber, total dietary 3.6 g
Sugars 3.57 g
Calcium, Ca 0 mg
Iron, Fe 3.21 mg
Thiamin 1 mg
Riboflavin 0.304 mg
Niacin 5.357 mg

It contains no sodium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, or Cholesterol

 

When I had the idea for this post I was more concerned about protein and iron so I was not thinking I would switch out orzo for farro. But . . . things have changed and I might be looking for more fiber and potassium. I think that adding farro to our diet would be a good thing.  But I don’t necessarily have to switch one for the other.  I think variety is good. So we can have farro, rice, orzo, pasta, and end up getting a lot of different nutrients.

Just recently I cooked up some orzo and added some chopped kale. Mmmmmmm, so good. I forgot to get farro when I went to the store, but it is on my list for my next trip.  I am looking forward to adding it to our rotation of side dishes (or in some case making it the main).

Do you cook with rice, farro, pasta, orzo?  What is your favorite?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Single Has Its Advantages

Posted by terrepruitt on March 2, 2020

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaSo, life has kept me away from my blog and yours.  I really like to keep to a schedule and I missed two days last week.  Being that today is a regular posting day, but as I mentioned . . . “life”, I didn’t really have a chance to write up a new post today.  But I have been thinking of an update on a former post that I wanted to share.  Some of you may know that I listen to audiobooks and in my Charge Fast And Lasts A Long Time post I shared how I was the lucky recipient of some AirPods.  I didn’t want them for a long time, but I ended up with a pair and I use them all the time.  Since I use them all the time I keep thinking I need to post an update about something I wrote in that post.

I was unable to use one at time.  Seriously, I tried several different times to figure out a way to just use one, but I couldn’t do it.  My husband couldn’t get them to work as a single either.  Then about a week or two after my post both of us turned to the other and said, “I can use one now.”  It was so weird.  One time when I was taking them out to put away the one that was in my ear kept playing.  So, they do work as a single AirPod.

This ends up being really great when they are at low power.  I don’t have to stop listening all together.  When the AirPods make their little noise notifying me they are at low power I just put one in the case and keep listening.  In about five minutes the one in the case can be charged up pretty high so then I can just switch.  No lost listening time.

So . . . amendment:  AirPods can be used as a single AirPod.

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

A Successful Change Of Pace

Posted by terrepruitt on February 24, 2020

Have you heard of farro? I had heard of it but it seems like there is a “new” old grain to try every week so I didn’t pay it much attention. Especially since the last thing I was told to try that I think of as trendy is still sitting in my pantry with only two servings having been used. And by “used” I don’t even mean eaten. I cooked it, forced it down. Then tried a second time and realized it can’t be that good for me if it is making me gag and making me dread eating breakfast. I believe sometimes there is a balance in eating healthy things. If buckwheat cereal was the only healthy think I ate, then I would eat it, but it is not. It was so mucus-y I just couldn’t eat it. Well, last night I ordered a farro salad. I usually don’t order salads for entrees, but I felt like having A LOT of greens so I decided to order one as a change of pace. I wasn’t entirely sure about it, but the roasted Brussels Sprouts were really calling to me.

It was really good. First of all, I never eat bacon any more because it just isn’t want it used to be, this bacon was good. But I had just glossed over that on the menu and forgot about it until my bowl came. I had ordered grilled chicken as an addition to the salad. Well, I have to say I really liked the farro. It was really soft. It was like biting into very large rice. But it didn’t feel like orzo. The texture was soft like rice and orzo, but the grain itself is more round it is really satisfying to chew.  I have to like the texture of something otherwise I won’t eat it even it the flavor is fine . . . hence the buckwheat cereal* in my pantry.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaI liked the texture of the farro and with the thought of it being an “ancient grain” to me it seems like good comfort food. So even though I was eating raw greens – kale even – the farro gave the salad a very comforting/nurturing feel.

So here is what I found for nutritional information for about 1/2 cup of ORGANIC PEARLED FARRO:

Energy 356 kcal
Protein 11.11 grams
Total lipid (fat) 2.22 grams
Carbohydrate 73.33 gram
Fiber (total dietary) 11.1 grams
Sugars 0 grams
Calcium, Ca 27 mg
Iron, Fe 2.22 mg
Potassium, K 393 mg

It has 0 Sodium, Vitamin D, Saturated fat, transfat, and Cholesterol.

Wiki has this to say about it “Farro is a food composed of the grains of certain wheat species, sold dried, and prepared by cooking in water until soft. It is eaten plain or is often used as an ingredient in salads, soups, and other dishes.”

I am thinking it really can be used like one would use rice. I bet I could use it in place of orzo in my Avgolemono. But I don’t know that I will ever do that because I love the orzo so much.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaI really liked this salad, it was really good.  I think I might even attempt making it at home, except I will switch out the parmesan for some Dubliner Cheese.  The parmesan was too bitter.  Since I can’t find good bacon I will need the salt of the Dubliner.  Otherwise it would have been good with goat or even feta.

 

So, have you tried farro?  Do you cook with it?  What do you make?

*I just realized as I was re-re-re-reading this before publishing that when I was young we ate Buckwheat FLAKES cereal, and that was ok, but what I am talking about it like grits or cream of wheat with a cold or sinus infection.  (Ewww.)

 

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Sparkly Princess

Posted by terrepruitt on February 21, 2020

A Princess card for today’s Friday Photo. I was recently at a birthday party where the birthday girl received this card. She is a princess so it is quite fitting.

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Don’t Ask A Question If You Are Just TRYING To Be Polite

Posted by terrepruitt on February 19, 2020

So what is your opinion . . . .? I think that you shouldn’t ask a question if you are just TRYING to be polite, because then you end up being rude. I don’t think it IS polite for someone to ask a question if they don’t have time or the mental capability or capacity to listen to the answer. I don’t want to say that people don’t care about the answer, because I feel as if we all care, but sometimes we don’t have time for the answer. We might have somewhere else we need to be. Sometimes, it is not as if we are not smart enough that we don’t have the mental capability/capacity I mean we just might not be in the right space to listen to the answer. I know that when my mom was dying if someone were to have given me instructions on how I could have easily received a million dollars, I wouldn’t have been able to listen and remember. So that is what I mean by not having the mental capability. It could be that we are distracted, we have too much on our minds to listen to the response. So . . . to me, it is not polite to ask a question if we are just trying to be polite and we really aren’t going to listen to the answer. What do you think?

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaWhat sparked this whole post was something I witnessed recently where one person asked another person a question, but then when the second person started to answer the person who asked had a face that screamed, “When can I interrupt to leave?” Now, I know I am assuming things by looking at people, but I felt bad for the second person because they were excited as they started to answer, but as they began picking up on the attitude of the person who asked they became sad because they realized that the person didn’t really want an answer. And that is where I am saying the question shouldn’t even be asked. Why bother?

What also comes to mind is when people say, “How are you doing?” as a greeting. Instead of just saying “Hello.” They say, “How are you doing?” as they walk on past. They really don’t mean it as a question they want an answer to, they just use it as their form of greeting.

Perhaps it is such a habit for some people to ask that they don’t stop themselves when they are in the don’t-have-time or can’t-really-engage stage. I don’t know. That is kind of what what I am asking.

What do you think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , | 8 Comments »

Yin Yoga Is

Posted by terrepruitt on February 17, 2020

Not too long ago I received a copy of the magazine “Yoga Journal” and was excited to see an article in it about Yin Yoga. It presented Yin Yoga in the light that I was taught. It separated Yin Yoga from Restorative Yoga. It mentioned some science even as to why Yin Yoga is important, so not just talk about energy and meridians, but something that could be measured and shown to those that really need to see some science behind yoga. I will share that post later. Right now I just wanted to do something quick to help give people a quick idea of what Yin Yoga is. When I tell people that I teach Yin Yoga their first question is, “What is Yin Yoga?” This is just a quick bulleted list to help answer that question.

• Yin Yoga is a passive practice.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin Yoga

• Yin Yoga has LONG holds.

• Yin Yoga is about connective tissue and meridians.

• Yin Yoga is about being in a pose and not using muscle to get into a pose.

• Yin Yoga is not “Restorative Yoga.”

• Yin Yoga has poses that may seem familiar, but the hold is longer and therefore the intent is different.

• Yin Yoga is primarily an on-the-floor (seated, lying prone, or supine) practice.

• Yin is a cooling practice.

• Yin Yoga is the counter practice to a yang practice.

• Yin Yoga is a still practice.

In some of my previous posts regarding Yin Yoga, I have addressed some of these points in more detail, but in addition to a post with the information from the Yoga Journal article, I might just do a post expounding on each bullet point.  We will see.

What do you think?  Have you ever taken a Yin Yoga class?

Posted in Yin Yoga | Tagged: , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Conversation Hearts

Posted by terrepruitt on February 14, 2020

This water color is from the Camden Community Center where I teach stretch on Thursdays. It is in a cabinet behind glass so there is the reflection of the lobby in the picture. But . . . I still thought it was sweet and a perfect share to a Friday Photo that happens to be Valentine’s Day!

 

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin Yoga

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