Here we go, Sunday and still getting to our Daily 10 Minute Practice. This is a three day weekend for many here. Hopefully you can still squeeze in the ten minutes. So how about it?
Posts Tagged ‘Working Out’
Day Nineteen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 19, 2017
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, meditation, Pilates, something to do daily, Working Out, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Day Eighteen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 18, 2017
Oh, so I don’t know what the weekend weather looks like, but I will say – yesterday – WHOA! I think I have mentioned before that we have a VERY SMALL yard. It is narrow and small. So when the things in the yard blow around it is usually very windy outside. Well, yesterday our tall grass/weeds were lying FLAT. It was sooooo windy. As I drove to Nia I saw so much debris in the streets. On our street it looked like snow because all of the blossoms were stripped off the tree. On some streets I saw strips of palm trees. On another street the street sign was barely hanging on the stop light. It was crazy windy here. We also received a lot of rain.
With winter weather still upon us perhaps it makes it easier for you to get to your Daily 10 Minute Practice. Unless it has to do with gardening or being outside. Well, check in here!
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: cleaning out, Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, meditation, Pilates, something to do daily, Working Out, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Day Seventeen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 17, 2017
It’s Friday. Hopefully you will accomplish your Daily 10 Minute Practice today and it will send you into the weekend on a high note. It is also Friday Photo day so I need to make sure to post that, too!
Have a great weekend!
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: cleaning out, cleaning up, Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, Friday Photo, meditation, Pilates, something to do daily, Working Out, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Day Sixteen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 16, 2017
The Daily 10 Minute Practice day sixteen. Remember this is your practice so you are doing something you wanted to do. Is your daily practice something that has results that can be seen? Are you seeing any results?
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: cleaning, Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, meditation, Nia, Pilates, Working Out, Yoga | 5 Comments »
Day Fifteen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 15, 2017
Here we are on day fifteen of the Daily 10 Minute Practice. Because February is a “short” month we only have 13 days left. Perhaps after having done a daily 10 minute practice, we can carry it on, if that is something you want to do. I should carry on my present one AND add “cleaning out” as a second one!
How is it going for you?
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: cleaning, Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, meditation, Pilates, something to do daily, Working Out, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Day Fourteen Of Your Daily Ten Minute Practice
Posted by terrepruitt on February 14, 2017
Here we are day fourteen of the Daily 10 Minute Practice. How are you doing so far? How do you feel?
When are you going to do your 10 minutes?
Posted in Ten Minute Daily Practice | Tagged: cleaning, Daily 10 Minute Practice, daily challenge, meditation, Nia, Pilates, Working Out, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Assessing The Threat Level – Can It Eat Us?
Posted by terrepruitt on August 16, 2011
Our cat is an indoor cat. She does not go outside. I honestly feel that cats should be able to go outside. There are so many fun things for cats to experience; butterflies, grass, fences, frogs, lizards, flowers, etc. They do belong outside, able to roam, but unfortunately there are also many dangers. In addition to believing that cats really should be allowed to go outside, I feel that people must take responsibility for their pet(s) and that can come with a heavy price tag. Neither my heart nor my wallet could afford having to fix my cat if one of those outside dangers were to injure her. In our neighborhood we have raccoons, opossums, dogs, cats, cars, and sometimes the worst danger of all . . . other people. Not everyone is an animal lover or they might not enjoy a kitty fertilizing their garden — understandable. So we keep our cat inside. She, like a lot of indoor animals, LOVES to sit by any open door or window. She can sit there for hours. She stares and sniffs, and sniffs and stares. She will often go from door to door as if patrolling her yard. My hubby and I feed birds and squirrels in our yard in hopes that they will serve as entertainment for the cat. We have learned that we are overly entertained by our yard animals too. As I have posted before, the animals often distract me when I am doing a Nia routine or working out.
My hubby and I also have animal protocol, if there is an animal in the yard and we are on our way out to the yard, we stop and wait for it to settle or be gone. If we are in the yard and one comes in we freeze and let it do what it is there to do then we proceed. We often will stop what we are doing (pause a DVD, pause our conversation, etc.) to watch the various critters that come to visit. They are very entertaining. They eat, they play, they drink, they take baths. It is all very fun to watch. They can be quite silly.
We used to have blue jays come with their babies every year. They must have nested in our neighbor’s yard, because one year he drastically trimmed the trees and the babies that visit now are not nearly as young as the ones we used to have. So I believe the birds are having their babies elsewhere and sometimes they come here to eat or bath, but they are not here over a period of months as they once were. It is interesting and very amusing watching “babies” learn new things.
I believe the video included in this post is a group of “baby” hummingbirds. They are either babies or they are adults new to our yard and they have not seen the “house” that we allow our cat to go outside in. The hummingbirds swarm around the house to see what exactly is the threat of the animal inside. It is quite entertaining. They did this just a few times and have since learned that she is no threat and they act as if she is not there. The squirrels often check her out though. They climb on the table and peer in at her. She just looks back at them, rarely does she rush at them. She knows she can’t get them, but I don’t think they are always so sure.
On this video you can hear the birds making their little chitter noise. I imagine them saying, “What is it doing? What is it? Can it eat us?”
Posted in Birds | Tagged: animals are entertaining, Baby blue jays, baby hummingbirds, bird bath, blue jays, cat houses, dog houses, hummingber chitter, hummingbird noise, hummingbird noises, Hummingbirds, indoor cats, indoor-outdoor cats, Nia, Nia routine, Nia workout, outdoor cats, squirrels, threat level, threat level assessment, traveling crates, Working Out, yard animals | 12 Comments »
If it doesn’t fit, try Again
Posted by terrepruitt on January 11, 2011
As I was putting Christmas Ornaments away (yes, I am still putting “Christmas” away) I was reminded of Nia. My thoughts then morphed to working out and exercise. Ya see, I was trying to put an ornament in its box. I have trouble with this ornament every year. Do you have any of those ornaments where you store them in the box they came in? I have a lot of those ornaments and every year there are some that give me trouble. I try putting it in this way, then I have to take it out and turn it, then try again, and try again, and after a few tries finally get it in the right way with a resulting “Ahhh . . . . . .”
That is what made me think of Nia. Nia is made for everyBODY. The exercises we perform, the movements we do, the entire workout is designed around the design of the body. Often times people are not accustomed to moving their body in the way it was designed. Some people don’t turn their heads which can loosen the spine and muscles in the back or gyrate their hips which can loosen the hips and possible allow you to stand up taller. It might not be for everyONE, because in Nia participants are not told exactly how to move. It IS one of those things that you have to ACTUALLY try. It also helps to try it more than once. Try going to classes when they have different routines. Try it with different teachers. Try treating it differently; treat it as a cardio workout, treat it like an exercise, or treat it like a dance. Try all different ways. If you don’t love it instantly, then don’t give up, try again. You could find that when you keep trying and do it a different way you’ll be saying, “Ahhhh . . . ”
If not, Nia, there are so many other things that you can try. Find something you like. Keep trying. Don’t give up and think you don’t like exercise or working out because it comes in so many different forms, I am sure you can find something you would like. You can always contact me and we can talk about it.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: cardio dance class, cardio exercise, cardio workout, Christmas Ornaments, dance class, exercise, exercise class, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia dance class, Nia exercise, Nia Moves, Nia particpants, Nia teachers, Nia workout, Working Out, workout class | 8 Comments »
Nia Principle #10 X-Ray Anatomy
Posted by terrepruitt on July 27, 2010
The 10th Principle of the Nia White Belt is X-Ray Anatomy. When I first heard this I thought, “What? Do the people that do Nia think they have X-Ray Vision?” But that is not the case at all. (Whew!) To put it in its simplest form it is a way to see the body.
In Nia we study anatomy. We do not study it to the extent of doctors, but we read books and use tools to help us learn how the bones act as the frame and support of the body; how the bones protect organs, and how the bones connect. We examine the joints and how they move. Each type of joint: the hinged joints, the ball and sockets, etc. moves differently We notice how they move and how they allow movement. We also look at how the muscles move the bones, with contractions. In addition, we think about the connective tissue, believing that in order for it to be healthy it must move and be supple.
Focusing on how the body was designed to move and appear allows us to “x-ray” beneath the skin using our intuition, our knowledge, and our eyes to possibly see areas that could use attention. For example shoulders in general should be level. Rounded shoulders could be weak muscles in the back not holding the back up and shoulders back, or tightness in the muscles in the front. Level hips is the original design, barring injury, hips off kilter could be a matter of weak leg muscles on one side. See how that can work?
Looking at our bodies using our X-ray Anatomy can assist us in seeing and learning what our bodies need. Seeing what our bodies need give us the opportunity to give them what they need. When we have an idea of what our bodies need it enables us to practice Nia in the way that best suits our needs. Working out in a way that our bodies actually need makes working out enjoyable and makes you feel great.
Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: Nia, Nia antomy, Nia Practice, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Principle #10, Nia workout, Nia Xray vision, Working Out, workout, X-reay anatomy, xray vision | 12 Comments »
Muscle Contractions
Posted by terrepruitt on January 19, 2010
Muscles contract. An isotonic muscle contraction is when the length of the muscle changes. The isotonic contraction could be a concentric contraction where the muscle shortens or an eccentric contraction where the muscle lengthens.
As an example, your arm is hanging at your side, when you lift your hand to touch your shoulder that is an isotonic contraction. Your biceps muscles are shortening, pulling your hand up to your shoulder in a concentric contraction, your triceps are lengthening in an eccentric contraction. Lowering your arm the biceps muscles are lengthening in an eccentric contraction and it is actually your triceps contracting in a concentric contraction that is pulling your arm down. But since gravity is helping the triceps don’t have to work very hard.
An isometric contraction is when the muscle contracts but the length of it does not change. For instance, when you sneeze or cough. Your abdominal muscle contracts, but unless you bend into the sneeze/cough the length does not change.
To strengthen the muscles resistance needs to be added to the contraction. Muscle must be challenged and learn to overcome the challenge in order to become stronger. Tension/resistance needs to be added to movement/contraction.
There are many forms of resistance; gravity, weights, bands, tubes, immoveable objects (that you try to push or pull), all of it can assist in strengthening the muscles.
The muscles can gain strength from both the concentric contraction and the eccentric contraction. So lowering the weight after having lifted a weight toward your shoulder in a biceps curl can contribute to strength.
When the muscles contract in a concentric contraction they are pulling on bone. But that is not be be confused with a push workout or a pull workout. Even when you are working your “pushing muscles” your muscles are actually contracting and pulling on the bones to complete the exercise.
Muscles contract, it is the added resistance that makes them stronger.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: concentric contraction, exercise, isometric contraction, isotonic contraction, Muscles, Pull workout, push workout, Working Out, workout | Leave a Comment »
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