Terre Pruitt's Blog

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

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Posts Tagged ‘brushing teeth’

Another Stretch For EVERY DAY!

Posted by terrepruitt on July 1, 2024

Here is another stretch you can do every day. I am just throwing these out here because, as I mentioned previously, people are ALWAYS telling me they need to stretch more. But I think they think they need to make time to stretch and while I think they do, taking time out of your day to stretch is great, I think stretching EVERY DAY is more important. Stretching is like sleeping, you can’t do it all at once . . . it is something that our body needs daily. So . . . these posts are just quick reminders. They are NOT detailed instructions, they don’t have a lot of notes on variations, they are not addressing injuries and limitations, so remember to do what your body can do. I am just trying to point out that you can stretch EVERY DAY!

This one is another floor stretch and can be done while putting on lotion, brushing your teeth, chatting on the phone, or watching TV, etc.

A stretch is most effective when done for at least 30 seconds. So you don’t even had to sit in it for that long.

This one has a lot of names (as most stretches do) I am going to call it Butterfly. Sit tall and put the soles of your feet together. Let your knees fall out. Bring your feet as close to your middle as you like.

As an example, I am brushing my teeth.

See, easy-peasey. C’mon, this is so simple you can do it every day. The thing is, it may NOT actually be easy for some because of stiffness or limitations. Be gentle and do what you can. But do it every day!

Now you have four stretches you can easily add to your routine EVERY DAY!  You don’t even have to do all three every day, but do at least one EVERY DAY!

Calf Stretch
Standing Forward Fold
Seated Wide Angle Stretch Over Leg
and this one (Butterfly)

Edit (03.12.25):  More information about this stretch(/asana) can be found at Butterfly, Baddha Konasana, Bound Angle

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You CAN Stretch EVERY DAY

Posted by terrepruitt on June 10, 2024

So, have you been stretching every day? Maybe three out of seven days? Well, don’t forget if you didn’t you still can. So start now. Last week we talked about a simple calf stretch. I am not going into a lot of detail because I am wanting to get you stretching not stuck reading. You can keep with the calf stretch while you brush your teeth or you can move that to when you are waiting for your meal to heat up and you can do a forward fold while brushing your teeth.

Don’t-want-to-read-it-all summary:
—Goal is to stretch not fold all the way over
—Forward Fold*
—Notes variation

The forward fold will stretch the low back and back of your legs. Remember the goal is not to touch the ground, if you can great, but if not, don’t get frustrated. The goal is to sense a stretch in your low back and back of the legs.

*Forward Fold stand with feet shoulder width apart. Keep your legs straight and move from the hip joint. Hinge forward keeping your spine in neutral. Only go as far over as you can before you start bending your legs and rounding your spine. Also, don’t choke on your toothpaste.

So there are a lot of different ways to do a forward fold, some include rounding the spine, some include bending the knees, some may have feet together, some may have feet further apart (like in the photo), some may include hands on legs, some may include hands on floor, some may include hands on props. We are keeping it simple. We are here for a stretch. It’s simple so that you can do it while you are doing something else. If you are setting time aside for stretching – which is great, do that! – then there are a lot of things to think about, but I am just trying to get people to add a stretch into their everyday life so simple is the key.

Ok, add this to your daily routine.

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Stretching EVERY DAY

Posted by terrepruitt on June 3, 2024

Sometimes life is strange. You know when you are thinking about a friend and they call. Or you think about having BBQ for dinner and your spouse says, “Hey, I feel like BBQ.” Or you are thinking that you want to do a blog post about stretching every day and that same day one of your students says, “I need to stretch more.”

Don’t-want-to-read-it-all summary:
—Need to stretch every day
—You can do it while you brush your teeth or scroll on the phone
—Stretching may be uncomfortable, but NOT painful
—First stretch: calf stretch (see * below), do both sides

I stretch every day. I think it is very important. Modern society is primarily set up so that we sit a lot and we have our bodies in a set position for a long time so things (muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.) can get tight and short. We need to stretch every day. Most people will agree but then say they don’t have time. Not having time is a very valid reason, but not a good one. I think that stretching every day for a few minutes is better than stretching for a long time every so often.

There are many stretches that can be done WHILE doing something else. And by “something else” I mean, brushing your teeth, talking on the phone, texting, watching TV, putting on lotion, something you do EVERY DAY. You can incorporate a stretch or two into your everyday routine.

If you think to yourself, “I can’t stretch because I am too tight.” Stop. A stretch is a stretch. If you can’t touch your toes, but you try you are getting a stretch, the point of stretching ISN’T to touch your toes, it is to stretch your body. There could be any number of reason why you may NEVER be able to touch your toes but since that is not the goal, it doesn’t matter. The goal is to stretch.

As a reminder stretching may be uncomfortable, but not painful. Know the difference. It is like a whine compared to an EXCLAMATION (OW!).

We are going to start with a super simple one. Simple may not mean easy for you, but in this case it means you don’t have to get down and then up. You can do it while you are brushing your teeth. I am going to go with the idea that teeth brushing is something done every day so this stretch can be done every day.

This is a simple calf stretch. *You take a step back keeping the back leg straight with the toes facing the same way as your hips, chest, and shoulders. Bend into the front leg’s knee. Keep your stance wide enough – at least shoulder width – apart so you have balance. Press the heel of the back leg into the ground, straighten that leg as much as you can and hopefully you will sense the stretch in your calf. You may not be stepping FAR back and that is fine, just step far enough that you can sense the stretch in your calf of that back leg.  You can brush the same side of your teeth as the back leg and when you are ready to switch, you can switch. You can do this at least once a day!

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

Mindfulness On Task

Posted by terrepruitt on January 10, 2018

Not too long ago I discovered a way to be mindful quite by accident.  This way to be mindful is also ONLY during a specific task.  A couple of years ago I wrote briefly about Mindfulness because I had come across a video on Facebook that represented an entirely different definition of mindfulness than I think of mindfulness as.  In that post I mentioned walking around while brushing my teeth as not being very mindful.  I am not concentrating on the task (brushing my teeth) at hand.  I am trying to save time by doing other things while brushing my teeth.  The result of that is usually me spending way more time brushing my teeth than I need to because I forget where I have brushed.  While I am walking across the room to get my clothes I might have brushed the top front, but then by the time I get to my clothes I have moved onto the top sides.  When I grab my clothes I forget if I did the front.  So I think I end up brushing and rebrushing.  So in effect NOT saving any time at all.  Plus the fact that I am just not being mindful of the task at hand.  Well, quite by accident I found a sure fire way to MAKE me focus ONLY on brushing my teeth.

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, SJCityFitI don’t like soft tooth brushes.  I like medium.  The last time I went to buy a tooth brush I could find soft or firm.  No mediums.  Every brand, every style I looked at was either soft or firm, but not medium.  Who is the jerk responsible for that?  Well, I decided to try the firm.  WELL, NOW!  That is what is making me concentrate solely on brushing my teeth.  Them bristles are WAAAAYYYY firm.  I am afraid that if I am not giving it my attention 100% I will brush a hole in my tooth.  Not only do I have to concentrate as to where I have brushed because I don’t want to go over any area of my tooth more than is necessary, I have to concentrate on the pressure I am using,

So, for a bit now, I have been standing at my sink brushing my teeth – JUST brushing my teeth.  For those of you that do that normally, I am sure this sounds ridiculous.  But I know there are a lot of others out there like me who do other things while brushing their teeth and it sounds ridiculous, even unimaginable, for other reasons.  Well, yup . . . there it is – FORCED mindfulness.  I think it actually saves me time.  As I mentioned, before there was unnecessary brushing.  Now there is not and so it is much more efficient.

Now, if I could just let this cross over into some of the other things I do.  There are moments with some tasks where I am very focused, but some tasks just don’t seem like they need my full attention.  And then that is when I end up with spilled liquid, a broken nail, a misplaced item, or something else unwanted.

Do you have any tips or tricks for staying focused and being mindful?

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