Terre Pruitt's Blog

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

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Posts Tagged ‘Jujitsu’

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?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Kicks; Front, Side, Back

Posted by terrepruitt on March 1, 2014

Here is where it is obvious that the moves we include in the 52 Moves of Nia are not unique to Nia. Kicks are part of many dances, martial arts, and movement forms. Kicks can be done in many different ways. They are great for many things. In Nia while we dance we often do kicks. We count each kick as a separate move so the Front Kick, the Side Kick, and the Back Kick are three of the 52 Moves of Nia moves.

I know that we did kicks in country line dancing and in West Coast Swing.  They kick in ballet and jazz dance.  We all know they kick in all types of martial arts such as karate, jujutsu, and kickboxing.  Kicks are even a part of exercise routines and sports.  I know they do kicks in Jazzercize and Zumba.

Each kick requires balance, and that is one of the things that kicks are good for.  The act of kicking helps improve, helps challenge, and helps retain balance.  One must be on one leg and/or foot in order to kick the other leg.

With a Front Kick, in Nia, we balance on one whole foot, we lift the other thigh so the foot is off the ground.  We keep our alignment of our three body weights.  We use our arms to help maintain the balance.  The leg we are standing on is firmly rooting to the earth yet the knee is not locked.  Then we extend the leg of the foot that is off the ground, allowing the shin and foot to move forward, away from the body.  We look where we kick.  We kick at our own level.  It could be that you are able to lift your thigh so it parallel to the ground or possibly your knee is higher than your hip.  Remember it is your kick so it is your balance practice.

The Side Kick starts as the front kick, on one leg, the we lift our thigh, but instead of sending the foot forward and away from the body we shift our hips so the one that has the leg lifted it higher than the other one and our knee crosses the midline of the body, the we push our foot out to the side of the body.  The same side as the foot that is lifted.

The Back Kick has the same start as the front kick and side kick.  Stand on one leg and lift the other thigh up.  As with the front kick your body is in alignment.  The we push the leg that is lifted, back, as if we are stepping on the wall behind us.  For an additional challenge to balance you can look behind you.

Just like all the 52 Moves in Nia, while doing these kicks in our Nia routines we often modify them a bit.  Sometimes the kicks are slow and powerful.  Sometimes they are fast and done with a bit of ease.  Sometimes the choreography allows for the foot to rest on the earth before rising again to kick, sometimes not.  Sometimes the kicks are done in a fast repetitive fashion.  Sometimes they are meant to be done low, sometimes they are meant to be done high.  But all kicks are meant to be done in your own body’s way.

In addition to balance, kicks help with strength.  Both legs, the standing and the kick leg get the benefit of that.  Also kicking is good for exercising your coordination, especially when there is travel involved and/or arm movements.  Kicks are a great addition to many dance modalities and exercise forms.  I would bet you are familiar with kicks.

Do you do kicks in your cardio dance class?  Do you include kicks in your workout routine?

Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Ready to Receive – Natural Time

Posted by terrepruitt on October 22, 2011

Nia class, Nia Teacher, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, cardio workout, cardio dance class, fun exerciseI have learned a lot in my 43 years.  I know there is a lot more I could learn, but one thing I have learned AND that I find fascinating is that I need to be ready to receive.  Have you ever shared something with someone and they “pishawed” you?  You had tried to tell them something you found fascinating/interesting/money-saving/yummy/good to do and they had acted as if you didn’t know what you were talking about.  Then two weeks later they come to you to tell you the very thing you tried to share with them?  I used to get offended, even upset, but I am starting to see it differently.  I am starting to see that when I tell people things and I feel as if I have been “pishawed” it is not as I once perceived it . . . it is not their mind is snapping closed . . . but, maybe, just maybe it is the mind just saying, “What? I have never heard of that . . . let me deal with that later . . .” And then when it is heard again the mind has a space for it because they had heard it before, so their mind is more open to accepting and listening.

It is somewhat like Natural Time in a Nia workout.  In Nia, in our workouts, we have natural time allowing individuals to move their bodies in their own time.  Could be they are not ready to do the move the first time they see it, but after a few repetitions they are ready to receive.  Their bodies are ready.  — Funny.  I didn’t start this post off as relating to Nia, but as I was sitting here typing it dawned on me that being ready to receive is Natural Time.  And as you know, all of the Nia White Belt Principles can be applied to everyday life.  Just as many principles from any practice; Yoga, Jujitsu, aikido, Ballet, etc. can be applied to life.

Sometimes we have so much on our minds that adding something new just isn’t gonna work.  So maybe when we first hear something we just say, “NO!”  Then our brains move on.  But maybe the new “thing” left a spot, like rust . . . . but good, where it just stays and either it actually starts seeping into our brain or it just sits there until we hear it again.  Then we are able to open to the idea.  It is like the old idea of a seed.  Sometimes it is not ready to be planted, but it is there in its own little space.

I can actually remember specific times when this has happened, especially with my hubby, but I am posting about it because I recognized awhile ago that I do this.  Because I have heard something and pishawed it then later examined it.  It fascinates me.  It makes me wonder why I didn’t recognize good advice/information when I first heard it.  I wonder why I am not smart enough to recognize beneficial information when I see it.  So that is why I think that we have to be ready to receive.  It really doesn’t have to do with being intelligent.  Sometimes being ready is something of natural time.  We have to be ready in our own time.  In our own time is the best time in which to learn.  Amazes me.

Have you ever learned or heard something and when you really thought about it realized that you had heard the same thing before but it didn’t sink in?  Have you ever experienced the second time around as being the time you benefited from something?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Henna Tattoos

Posted by terrepruitt on May 23, 2009

I had been thinking about getting some henna decoration around my ankles or on the lower legs.  I was thinking that would be cool since people tend to look at my feet a lot since I am a group exercise instructor teaching Nia.  I had been looking for an artisit in San jose.  But, then I saw pictures from a Yelp Event and there had been a Henna Artist there doing tattoos.  These were the first tattoos I had seen that had sparkles and glitter on them.  Ooooooo, now we are talking!

So I contacted her and started learning a bit about Henna and Henna Tattoos.  First of all when  the henna is applied and it is like puff paint, it is raised and thick and initially wet.  So the glitter is applied when it is wet and I imagine this is done when one is at an event or a party, because then it looks extra pretty.  As the Henna dries it starts to flake off and if you have glitter that will probably flake off too.

As I was looking at Henna and Beyond website I read that it is believed that putting henna on the skin started out as a way to cool people in the desert, “When the desert people of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat became aware of Henna’s cooling properties, they dipped their hands and feet in a mud or paste made with the crushed leaves of the plant. Even when the mud was scraped off, they noticed, as long as the color remained visible, their body temperatures stayed low.”  This really fascinated me.  I know so many women who, if this is true, might want to try Henna tattoos.  If this works for some people think of how we could save on electricity during heat waves.

I went to Rachna of Henna and Beyond and had some art work done.  One of the things you can do to help achieve a dark stain is to put oil or tiger balm on it.  Well, I tried both—sort of.  I put oil on it, but it was so light that I was afraid that wasn’t helping so I turned to some “hot sauce” that my hubby had made during his Jujitsu days.

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Now I don’t know if the Hot sauce or the henna is making me cold, but it is a perfect temperature in my house and I have socks on and I just drank  tea.  I have not yet washed the hot sauce off, although I am sure there is not much on after sleeping, because I am still in the 24-hours-without-water-period that you wait in order to assist the Henna color to last.  I am really thinking that the Henna does have cooling properties.  It could be that it does for me because I have that in my head, I don’t know, but it is fascinating.

 

 

I like my decorations.  I have learned a bit from this first time.  Next time I will get the decoration a little higher and not on the foot.  I want it on areas that move less so the flaking isn’t so bad with every movement.  But hopefully I have weeks before I need to think about that.  The tattoos will hopefully last two weeks.  I invite you to try it and let me know if it cools your body temperature down.  I would love to hear.

Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Zheng Gu Shui

Posted by terrepruitt on March 28, 2009

My husband took Jujitsu for a little while.  Martial Arts are amazing because from what I have heard most of them are not just an exercise class or a practice, a lot of them involve other “things” and in the case of my husband and his Jujitsu class, it involved potions and lotions.

Since in Jujitsu you use your body a lot and it can sustain damage, part of what he was taught was how to heal that damage or at least minimize the time frame of healing.  One thing he brought home was Zheng Gu Shui.  Oh how I love my Zheng Gu Shui.  If I even THINK I hurt myself, I put this stuff on and —BAM!—it is gone sooner than not. 

Ok, I have to admit sometimes I forget about it, but here is what had me wanting to blog about it.  I recently strained something in my neck changing the sheets.  Oh yeah, BTW, I usually don’t injure myself working out or exercising it is usually  while I am doing normal everyday stuff.  So I flicked the sheets like you do when you are putting them on the bed.  And –twang!—I hurt something.  That night I woke up four or five times because when I went to change sides I couldn’t turn my head without pain.  In the morning I tore my closet apart looking for my bottle of Zheng Gu Shui.  I put it on from my shoulder all the way into my hair because that’s where it really hurt.  Then I went about my day.  After one application I was able to move my head, but I still felt a twang.  So every once in while I would remember that I had hurt my neck so I would put more on.  I applied it maybe four times.  By the evening if I really put my mind to it I could still feel the pain, but I was able to completely move my head.   The next day, I was asking my husband if I could blog about Zheng Gu Shui and it dawned on me, it was 7:00 pm (I ran to the clock to check) and I had not THOUGHT about my neck ALL day because it was better.

According to many websites Zheng Gu Shui means rectify bones liquid.  I use it when I think I am going to bruise or feel that I have strained a muscle or something.   What it does is promote circulation.  This seems to allow the issue to resolve itself faster than it would on its own.  It is very strong smelling and it will tingle to the point of burning on tender spots (didn’t feel good on the back of my knees) and it might stain clothing, so use it with caution.  Always follow a products instructions.  It is awesome.  And it is VERY affordable.

Posted in Helpful Hints | Tagged: , , , , | 10 Comments »