Coffee and Accountability III

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Spring (End of) Break

Kate informed all of us three weeks ago that we were taking February off, but that, come March, she was “going to kick our asses.” (Given the pronoun, the ass-kicking must include her own fundament). Well, it’s March, which in Florida actually is Spring, so it’s a good time for beginnings.

I think I should choose one positive habit to establish, one project or new activity to pursue, and one bit of bliss to follow per fortnight. Just to define terms: a habit is just what it sounds like (exercise, diet, meditation practice are all examples). The activity is actually a broader category because it includes both learning new things and long-term, longstanding projects. The bliss is basically what I was talking about last week: something that genuinely delights you, and often something that delights the childlike part of you.

The reason I’m dividing the month in two is that, well, I’m a pagan. When I’m doing anything of significance, I tend to think of time in terms of the actual moon and sun.

Moon.jpg

Every month, half the month is a waxing moon and half waning (generally speaking). Actually, this March, the month begins with a waning moon (the New Moon is March 13). So I’m beginning with things I want to remove from my life. It might be a good time to remove pounds, but that is often an unsatisfactory goal—even dietitians tell people to frame their health goals in other language than losing weight. So my new habit for the fortnight is this: I’m going to limit my restaurant meals to two per week, only one of which can be fast food. That will also remove not only several restaurant meals per week, but also a lot of salt, the reduction of which is another of my ongoing goals.

You will notice that these changes in habit are eminently achievable: not much of a challenge at all. That’s because I’m at the beginning. It’s very important at the beginning that one’s reach not exceed one’s grasp. Last October, when we began this process for the first time, I was so excited by the increase in energy I was getting from the process that I set all kinds of massive goals for myself—and crashed and burned in six weeks. I’m only just now recovered enough to begin again. Ultimately, it delays one’s progress far more to make overly ambitious plans than overly simple ones.

NOTE FROM Kate: These changes in habit may seem small, but, while still being eminently achievable, they are going to seem to our perception to be just as big as larger goals will seem to us five months or five years from now. Keep it simple, keep it small, keep it achievable for where you are now, because that’s not all that’s going to happen this month; life will happen. Life has already been happening, and causing us to run at an energy deficit. We are increasing that deficit in small ways to expand the size of the tank. It is very important, then, not to make the amount of deficit spending too large: in other words, don’t overplan your projects. Keep it simple, keep it small.

BACK TO CSTMS: That principle is borne out by every experience of regular exercise I’ve ever had: weightlifting, aerobics, yoga, etc. The sense of effort basically stays the same as the goals increase.

Our entire process is based on the idea of building up one’s energy. We think that when people attempt to change and fail, it is generally because they don’t have enough energy available to make the changes they want. We believe that people who want to change their habits, or change their life in other ways, often do so because they are dissatisfied with their lives, and that this dissatisfaction often is accompanied by, or caused by, a serious energy deficit in the person.

Thus, you often begin with less energy than you need to maintain your status quo. Then you need even more energy to make the changes in your life that you want (unless you are a very unusual person, making changes always takes more energy than staying the same.) Eventually, the new habits themselves will provide you with additional energy, but this generally takes a long time to happen. The person who wants to change finds herself faced with the challenge of managing her energetic deficit spending. The challenge is to keep oneself going until the new investments you've made start paying off. (This assumes, of course, that you don't stumble on a new, wonderful source of energy formerly unbeknownst to you).

So, I've established my habit; now I need a project and a bit of bliss to follow...

For my project this fortnight, I’m going to continue a purge of my belongings that I began last year. I’m at work in my room, and the next thing on the agenda is going through several boxes of vinyl records that I’ve been hauling around for years. I intend to go through them, and see if they are still playable, discarding those that are warped. Cross your fingers for me; I hope most or all of them are still in good condition.

I’ve been having the impulse to bake lately, so I think I will try that out this week as my bit of bliss.

NOTE FROM KATE: You could learn to bake savory pies that we could have for dinner rather than ordering from restaurants.

I actually love spinach pies (known as fatayeh or spanakopita)

So I think I will learn to bake them.

Those are my goals for the next two weeks. What about y'all?

Hope you are doing as well as possible out there!

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Comments

lotlizard's picture

https://www.qwant.com/?q=texas%20independence%20mexico&t=web

Maybe to hold the Saudis accountable, from now on we should all spell it “Saw-di” as in bone saw and the Saw horror movie franchise.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@lotlizard

Now I think it might have been stealing a third of Mexico from Mexico.

Maybe Texans would like to weigh in on this. (Maybe not!)

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Azazello's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
History never is. It's a pretty common view, especially among liberals: evil, white US steals half of country from good, brown Mexico. The Mexican elementary education curriculum teaches this if nothing else. Trouble is, this view is over-simple and ignores the role of a powerful third party: native Americans, specifically the Comanche. Read War of a Thousand Deserts by Brian DeLay or The Comanche Empire by Pekka Hamalainen. The Mexican government was unable to defend its northern border against the NDNs, that's why they invited the north Americans into Texas in the first place, as a buffer. By the 1840s Mexicans were deserting the states of Chihuahua and Sonora in large numbers. The US saw the weakness of their southern neighbors and took the land. Unlike Mexico, the US was able to defeat the Comanche and make good its claim to the territory. That's as good as I can do on one cup of coffee.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Azazello

Thanks for the added info.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

phillybluesfan's picture

OutDoorsCoffee-300x221.jpg

A few years ago Martha and I came to an interesting awareness. We noticed that caffeine stimulates the two of us in strikingly different ways. You could argue that this small step toward the cup of enlightenment enriches our relationship anew each morning that we share another pot of coffee.

Like the original misguided Adam in the garden, I can convince myself it’s all her fault. I did not drink coffee before we met. Maybe I used to begin my day with fruit juice or tea. I conveniently arrange to not remember.

But I do recall the itemized evolution of our coffee time together. There was our Gevalia phase. Then we joined the pod phase. Although we’ve been known to enjoy an iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks, despite how we strongly prefer to abstain from the corporate and the big box, we’ve never cold brewed at home. Once I actually knew how to tell when steaming cappuccino milk was just right for blending with the shot of espresso … by the way it sounded. When a Seattle’s Best coffee shop involuntarily liquidated out from under me as part of a bankruptcy settlement, I managed to salvage a French press coffee maker from the debris.

espressomakerAnd most recently I’ve been using this stovetop coffee maker.

Our Louisville home has finally given us a porch where we can watch dog walkers and bicyclists and runners travel up and down the quiet street in our pedestrian friendly neighborhood. Looking at each other across a bright red metallic bistro table, we smile as we notice again how we react differently to the influence of caffeine.

You see, when I consume large quantities of caffeine I know that I can expect to become extremely talkative. For her part, Martha understands that caffeine can tend to make her feel irritable. The interesting part comes in because we both realize that one thing that sometimes especially irritates her … is when I become too talkative.

Now it’s your turn.

understanding-people_big_0.jpg

Tell me the story of a time when you, like Buddha under his bodhi tree, experienced a bit of enlightenment within one of your relationships.

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Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets

Raggedy Ann's picture

@phillybluesfan , I can tell you that caffeine from coffee made both my ex-husband and I irritable. When we switched to tea, we found no irritation, however, I too became a bit irritated when he talked too much, which was most of the time, with or without caffeine. That's my accountability story for today.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@phillybluesfan

was, well, a rather negative and heart-wrenching realization. Let me see if I can come up with a more positive one. Caffeine, which I am currently ingesting, should help!

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7 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Lookout's picture

it is sugar (which has a powerful lobby)

The wrong white crystals: not salt but sugar as aetiological in hypertension and cardiometabolic disease
https://openheart.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000167
(British medical journal) and another one from the American medical journal
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317126117_The_History_of_the_Sa...

https://www.isupportgary.com/articles/the-wrong-white-crystals

Dr. James DiNicolantonio reveals the incredible, often baffling story of how salt became unfairly demonized in a never-before-told, century-spanning drama of competing egos and interests. Not only have we gotten it wrong, we’ve gotten it backwards: eating more salt can help protect you from a host of ailments, including internal starvation, insulin resistance, diabetes, and even heart disease.

The real culprit? Another white crystal—sugar.

How have we got it so wrong? Salt is an essential nutrient that our body depends on to live.

So go ahead and salt your eggs and avoid the sweet pies and cakes to improve your health.

The problem is sugar is addictive...effecting the same part of your brain as cocaine.

30 min
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKkUtrL6B18]
The best-selling author and UCSF endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig explores how industry has contributed to a culture of addiction, depression and chronic disease. Always provocative, Lustig reveals the science that drives these states of mind and offers solutions we can use. [10/2017]

Best of luck with new habits. They say it takes 30 days to develop a new habit.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout

which supposedly has to do with either not drinking enough water or eating too much salt or both. I'm trying to hit the problem from both ends. I *was* drinking 72 oz of water a day, but have been having more trouble getting that much down, lately.

In general, I think salt is pretty OK, but we do have a great deal of it put into all of our commercially produced food in this country, possibly too much. Sometimes it's definitely too much: I used to eat Zaxby's chicken until I got some more than once that was like eating a salt lick.

You're right about sugar, of course, or, as happens rather more often in this country, about high-fructose corn syrup, which so often is substituted for sugar around here. That actually makes sense, since there's only two places in the United States that can grow sugar, as far as I know (south Florida and Hawaii), and there's lots of places that can grow corn. But unfortunately, whatever industrial processes they use to make the stuff out of corn have created a pretty nasty substance. Surely it should be possible to make a more reasonable, less processed sweetener from corn?

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6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout

resulted in the 1980s demonization of animal fat and red meat in particular. Now, there are other problems with red meat--you have to consider carefully the weight you're putting on the ecosystem--but it turns out that a lot of the FAT IS BAD, FAT MAKES YOU FAT, FAT CAUSES HEART DISEASE is not exactly true in the simplistic way it's been spread around.

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9 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Lookout's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

And the seed oils are highly refined with chemicals. Butter, olive oil and such are better choices. Everything's better with butter?

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout

some peanut oil!

What a beautiful frying oil.

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3 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Raggedy Ann's picture

I just gave philly my coffee and accountability story, since he asked.

I found that intermittent fasting was a lifestyle change and not a diet. Therefore, I've been able to stick to it for 2.5 years and change my life for the better - for my better.

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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9 users have voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Raggedy Ann

Thanks for sharing it. I know there are others here who have also done it. Lookout, weren't you one of them?

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

up
6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

is to warm the hands. 20 degrees with a wind chill below zero.
And reading a novel about time travel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the coffee gets cold

fun read!

Screenshot_2021-03-02 Before the Coffee Gets Cold.png
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8 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@QMS

Always up for a new, good novel.

The last new (non-detective fiction) novel I read was The Signature of All Things, an unwanted trip into Social Darwinism, reeking with that particular kind of self-assurance that comes from knowing you are serving the richest people in your culture.

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8 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

It was written for the theater
in four acts.
Characters are strongly developed.
The magic of the coffee shop lends
an interesting flavor.

Just finished it, didn't cry too much Wink

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@QMS

And unabashedly apologetic for European and American colonialism.

up
8 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

usefewersyllables's picture

Colorado spring weather forecast I love.

Wed., sunny and a high of 60;
Thu., high of 40 and a couple inches of snow;
Fri., sunny and a high of 60...

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Granma's picture

Is getting back my crocheting skill. It was something I loved doing, and was good at, for many years. And then I was working so many hours that I did not have time to do it. I remember how, but the years and lack of practice have stolen flexibility from my hands/fingers making them awkward and fumbling.
The bliss will be in succeeding because it is genuine joy to me to work on and complete a project I have chosen.

Spring has arrived here in the form of sunshine and temperatures in the 50s this week. For the first time in many months, the sunshine actually feels warm.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Granma

I should introduce you and Kate; she is BIG into fiber. Knitting, spinning, and now weaving.

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Granma's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal if you like this sort of thing, it is relaxing and fun. You can sort of lose yourself in it depending on how complex what you are working on is.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Granma

MacComber, and ravelry.com

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2 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

I went through a Jamaica Blue Coffee phase decades ago. Thing is, the coffee was so superior to anything else, restaurant coffee, or coffee to drink before you get to the specialty store 50 miles away store to buy the good stuff, ruined all other coffee for me. I decided I shouldn't get that spoiled, and now, I buy 100% Columbian coffee.
I consume very little sugar, very little salt. Salt is always sea salt.
My newest habit is to leave work at the office, take as little home with me as possible.
I think I will book a long weekend at Rockport Beach, the top ranked beach in Texas. It will do me and mine some good to get away for a bit.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@on the cusp

at that point, I would love to rent a beach house.

So far, my mom and Kate have been vaccinated. And my acupuncturist. All Moderna.

Supposedly, our county is now vaccinating 50 and over, which surprises me, given that I didn't think they'd get through all the folks over 60 that fast. So technically, they should be getting in touch with me soon. I have the sneaking feeling that somehow my registration with the county fell down a digital hole somewhere...but I think I need to wait a while before concluding that.

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal have decided to get the Johnson and Johnson jab. It doesnt seem to adversely affect people with allergies.
And when I attempted to rent the cabin, it was booked the days I had available.
We may fly off to Florida come June.
Enjoy a cuppa in the morning, and every morning.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

CS in AZ's picture

This assumes, of course, that you don't stumble on a new, wonderful source of energy formerly unbeknownst to you.

I have been thinking about this subject a lot lately, as I have been undergoing a lot of changes this past year and have been on a quest to find a way to regain my ability to walk without pain and a constant limp, which I've been dealing with for several years and had become very debilitating.

All of my efforts over the past years have met failure. The pattern has been: I find a method or idea that I think or hope will help me move forward, and I start trying to develop it into a new healthy habit. And I always soon ended up with more pain and less mobility and far less energy. In fact I would get exhausted just from getting to work, doing my sedentary job, and driving home. I would get home in so much pain and with so little energy that something like taking a short walk around the block or cooking something semi-healthy dinner was literally inconceivable.

By the fall of 2019 I had mentally given up, and was working with someone on "adjusting to disability" and letting go of the idea that I would someday be able to walk around again and do 'simple' physical things that other people take for granted.

And I was not doing too well with that adjustment, to be honest. I felt like my life was circling the drain. And I am not Old -- OK, I had just turned 60, so I am kinda old, but not old enough to fully accept that my quest needed to end.

And so then it happened... a new person came into my life, a friend-of-a-friend who I met at a Thanksgiving dinner party. She is a massage therapist and a natural born healer/giver. She saw me limping around as I helped with setting the table and so forth, and then wincing and massaging my left hip, leg, and knee whenever I could grab a minute to sit down. (This was simply how I lived every day at that time.)

She sat down next to me to ask if I was injured. I said something like, "No, well maybe yes, but not in the way you mean. This is chronic and I've had it for several years now." She said to me, "I want to fix that!" I laughed and said "You and me both!" She asked if I would like to schedule a massage with her and do some assessments.

Now, let me just say I have tried massages. Heck, I used to be a licensed massage therapist for about 5 years when I was in my early 20s. I've been to chiropractors, I've been to physical therapy, I have even given myself permission to try things like Reiki, light healers, whatever. I have done it all. Or so I thought.

But I liked her, and her energy and enthusiasm were so infectious and uplifting, I thought why not? I always enjoy a good massage, even if it doesn't do much long-term. So I said yes and we booked it.

I am going to make an already-long story shorter and just say that over the next year, which happened to be 2020 and in the midst of a pandemic when she had to shut down her business for several months, she continued to support me and to strive on her own to learn how to help me. Seriously.

Of course my chronic pain and broken gait had quickly proved unfixable with just massage therapy, even though she is very good and getting massages every few weeks did help more than I'd expected. But she was not satisfied with modest improvement, so she started searching for other answers. To say she was unstoppable is an understatement. We talked and explored ideas about it... what were the origins? What were my patterns? What had I tried and how did it go? How did I feel about it? Then one day she lit up with a smile, and said "I just remembered something that I think will really help. Let me dig it up and get back to you with more."

In a few days she sent me link to a book:
Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain

She sent it with a text: "I had forgotten all about this, but it is amazing! I've been doing some of the exercises again and it totally works for my neck and wrist pain. Check it out!"

I did. I read it cover to cover. I tried some of the exercises, but found it impossible to be sure I was doing them exactly right, which they say is critical, and also impossible to devote the time the book said to; e.g., to get into a certain supported posture and stay there for at least 45 minutes, and up to an hour or even more is recommended. I told her, while this theory sounds promising, it seems completely impractical in real life.

She took that to heart, but did not give up on it. She decided after some time to take their training program and get certified or whatever they call it, and learn how to apply it to actually help real people. As she neared the end of her training she needed a clinical case study for her final project, and asked me if I would do it.

Sure, of course, I said. "It involves having photos taken," she warned. "Full body and from all sides." Yikes! But ok, let's do it.

So about two weeks ago we had our first formal session. She gave me a "menu" as they call it, of a few very small, simple exercises that took a total of 15 minutes day, broken into a two sessions. "Doable?" she asked. Yes, I said. And for the sake of her class project, I promised us both to follow the program exactly as she had designed it. We did them together the first time, to ensure I got the movements and postures right and was using the correct muscles, and I felt instantly energized and also a noticeable reduction in my pain level.

I did the exercises the next day and the same thing happened. Doing these simple exercises feels like plugging my body into a charging port! After a few days I was bouncing around my house and feeling like I was so charged up, I wanted to do more! MORE, MORE, MORE!!! I told her.

Then she was like NO! Do NOT DO MORE YET. This is your pattern! You push too hard, you do too much, you are impatient and cannot wait for things to work. This takes time to undo mental and muscular patterns that are deeply ingrained. Do not rush it!

After one week when I saw her, the first thing she said was: "You have some extension in your left hip!! Wow!" And you are using that leg as a leg when you step on it, rather than it acting like a kickstand!" I was like, "yeah, baby, I know!!!" It is so exciting.

So after the first week she adjusted my menu just a bit, gave me a couple of new things to do and increased the time just slightly. Sigh! I still want to go faster. Of course! But it is working, my body don't lie about that. I feel better after two weeks than I have in at least 5 years. And I am full of energy. So bizarre.

She also allowed that I could feed my "need to do more" by actively learning more about it. "Engage your brain more if you must, but let your body go slower." Good idea. So what I have learned is this:

Having a lateral and anterior pelvic tilt that has locked into place so that your left hip no longer can rotate or extend, is a massive energy suck. Your brain feels constantly under threat if you are not stable in your body. This leads not only to exhaustion but also constant anxiety! Which, as I have written about before, has also been a continuing struggle for me.

These simple, small exercises to wake up the hip joint and teach it how to move again, to be able to feel my left heel where it touches the floor, to have my pelvis unloaded and resting in proper alignment for even a few minutes, have been simply mind blowing. And my energy level is incredible. I am struggling now with NOT pushing it farther and faster, because my head is all Let's GO!!! after so long of feeling too tired to move.

The book and watching videos is not enough, I needed the support of a dedicated therapist and I am forever grateful this amazing woman came into my life.

I usually never give health advice of any kind, but in this case I will make an exception. If you have chronic pain or patterns of uneven hips or shoulders and pain or limited mobility in your body, look at that first. Find help if you need it from someone who has studied postural restoration (it is practiced under a few names, not just the method I am using) and try it.

Thanks CStMS for providing this space for me to share this. I don't want to become evangelical, but for me this has been a true miracle.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@CS in AZ

One of my partners and I both suffer (we think) from what's called "hip impingement"; to me it feels exactly like my pelvis is stuck off-kilter.

I will definitely look into this.

What a great body worker you found. Somebody who keeps looking for an answer!

BTW, I just saw your other comment about you having a dream about me making a speech?

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7 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

CS in AZ's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

I'd have to look back to see exactly when that was, but it wasn't too long ago. Even though I don't actually know you in person, of course, you have been an ongoing inspiration to me, so it makes some sense that you showed up to give an inspirational speech in my dream. Smile

I am thrilled that you found my story potentially helpful. Having stuck, uneven hips is truly a foundational issue and it is extremely hard to move forward in life without addressing it.

When I first started seeing my therapist she told me "your hips are very uneven" but it was kind of like someone telling me my eyes or ears were uneven. Like, ok well, that sucks I guess, but what can be done? It turns out, there is something that can be done, that actually works.

I found this guy on YouTube who has a ton of very helpful and interesting (to me) videos on this. His training is a different system but based on exactly the same concepts, and I found it all falling into place (ha ha!) was I watched some of his vids. A good place to start looking into it, I think.

Postural Restoration Institute

Enjoy and good luck!

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magiamma's picture

@CS in AZ

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdNS95hpL-o]

Preserve with this one it's worth it
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6pTC4JvMjc]

Yes, I would recommend this stuff. (Am a CA certifies breath worker and yoga nut.) These two videos make a lot of sense. I also like Feldenkrais and Pilaties. All are good for different things. I use bits of them all.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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CS in AZ's picture

@magiamma

On that first video, my current menu includes the standing arm circles. She had me try a couple of the other movements in that series, but they caused pain so she said I was not ready for those yet. (She is big on using the word yet rather than just "I can't do it".) This was key to the in-person sessions for me - figuring out exactly where I was starting to make sure I do the right exercises to get the activation and movement without pushing it or hurting myself in any way. One step at a time!

I am also doing what she calls "static back" which is very similar to the one shown in the second video (hard to call that one an exercise even) but with knees and hamstrings right against the support block at 90-degree angle (for five minutes minimum) and then a couple of other exercises while I'm down there. For the second week she added a version of the pillow squeeze shown there, but with my feet on the floor instead of being up on the support block. We will be building up to more challenging postures and exercises as my abilities improve.

I told her my challenge with resting in static back for even 5 minutes was boredom and my mind wandering to things I needed to get done instead of just lying there. So she recorded a six-minute guided session as a voice note on my phone, which I can listen to each time I do the exercise. Amazingly helpful! She is quite resourceful.

I am happy to hear that you are familiar with this system and have seen good results with it! Thank you for sharing those!

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5 users have voted.
magiamma's picture

@CS in AZ

Have done body work (breathwork) for years and am always interested in different modalities.

This was new to me. I spent some time reading about it and watching the videos. It all makes good sense to me based on what I know and practice. I tried the arm exercises and they are excellent. I will be incorporating them into my daily practice. Interestingly just what I needed.

Thank you so much. (btw I have used this book for years. The method is great for sciatica and simple. https://relaxtheback.com/products/treat-your-own-back-book )

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3 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

I heard something about this somewhere, and finally found a credible source for it:
https://www.businessinsider.com/ndaa-legalizes-propaganda-2012-5?r=DE&IR=T

There is NO excuse for this. It certainly explains the last ~7 years.

Any idea what can be done - not just to get rid of this, but to undo all the damage it's done?

EVERYONE who knowingly supported this should be shot dead; there is NO excuse.

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7 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

it's a formal legal extension of what the government began in 1983:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/09/04/reagans-pro-c...

https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/51924

Bless Robert Parry. His work was a gift.

Here's the news site he founded:

https://consortiumnews.com/

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6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal ...who denied it based on a whole bunch of plausible-deniability-type loopholes ("this hadn't passed when the article was written, the military doesn't ALWAYS get what it wants, how do we know Obama even signed it...?"), and retorted triumphantly with this:

https://apnews.com/article/afs:Content:7064410002

Opinions?

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5 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

fact that it allows the US to peddle propaganda here. The US writes some blatant propaganda, ostensibly "for foreign use only" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and has one of its gofers in some NATO country describe it to one of its US media narrative spewers who then requests it and republishes it widely. And, in fact, that was pretty much going on before it was "legal". Whether anybody really needs to request it or not I don't say, but the AP is, generally, a govt narrative repeater so the truth could be anything.

be well and have a good one

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10 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@enhydra lutris That first part is just what I said; it shouldn't be that hard to see, but people keep making me doubt myself, even people I have always thought the world of. I can never tell whether I'm being "irrational/overconfident", or so much the dead-opposite that I am sabotaging my own rationality in a Sisyphean task of proving that I am not irrational or biased - as a matter of fact, that has been THE trap that has destroyed MY ENTIRE LIFE ever since the morning after Election Day of 2004. First it was Republicans doing that to me, now it's Democrats, including my own family.

What the everliving hell am I supposed to do?!?

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5 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

ignore everything but the funny pages or some mixture of the above. I just look them in the eye and say "The US was not involved in The Bay of Pigs, Allende's murder or Pinochet's coup, the overthrow of Mossadegh, "combat" in Vietnam, any massacres or other war crimes in Vietnam, we never Napalmed any villages in Vietnam or Cambodia, Agent Orange and the Paraquat and such we sprayed in Central and South America was harmless to livestock and humans, We never spied on or framed anybody involved in left wing politics or civil rights in this country and never supported or harbored the terrorists who bombed Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 such as former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles or Rafael De Jesus Gutierrez and never taught torture at "The School of Assassins" in Panama and I know all of this with certitude because it was told to me by the US government, its various agencies and its stenographer mouthpieces in the US press."

be well and have a good one.

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9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@enhydra lutris ...you and I had been arguing past each other vis-a-vis "cancel culture" before. I just found a new(ish) article on it by the one and only Chris Hedges - and, well, it's what you'd expect from Chris Hedges: https://consortiumnews.com/2021/02/15/chris-hedges-cancel-culture-where-...

Sounds like the day Hollywood REALLY cares about laying racism to rest is the day Will Campbell gets a movie.

EDIT: NOW I've read your reply. GREAT idea! I'll try that...!

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3 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

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1 user has voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

sayin', it can bring hurt down on the site, which is not good.

be well and have a good one

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7 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@enhydra lutris ...but there MUST be consequences, and when all "the proper channels" have been proved to be rigged and the rule of law is not much more than a dusty cassette-player left on loop and abandoned, what's left???

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5 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

was supposed to hope for. All it really did is allow them to overtyl engage in and budget for the stuff they'd been dooing ever since the fifties or before. That way nobody has to go down if somebody raises a huge stink.

be well and have a good one

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8 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

comment regarding this, amid frequent interruptions, a truly brilliant piece of work if I may say so myself, hit save and wandered off to do some pressing choses. Upon my return I was greeted with a box that said "you are not authorized to post comments" and no sign of what I had written. Ah well

First off, definitions, really? I thought habits were those things nuns wear. Bdump-tish.

Ok having got that out of my system, I thought I'd quickly note that if these habits are to be daily habits, and each takes 10 minutes, you're going to rack up 4.5 hours worth in the first year. For myself, there are a large number of things I hope to start (or restart) doing, but hope, being feathered, isn't commitment. One problem I have is life - I've already replaced a busted water-mixing faucet unit for the laundry tub and repaired a main irrigation feed line and it is only the second of the month. That's abnormal, but stuff do happen and it will mess up your plans. One year, back when we still worked, out entire planned vacation was eaten up by the need to deal with a busted water main.

For me, one thing I need to commit to is to just do anything needing doing that takes 10 or less minutes on the spot, and not merely make a note of it and then not get around to it for hours (or weeks). That's a biggie. Beyond that I want to be more organized without spending a ton of time organizing or getting organized. That involves instituting and sticking to routines for certain things or certain parts of the day, weather, faucets and shit like that permitting. Me being me, of course, this includes re-instituting or jump-starting old routines almost much as starting new ones, and using more assistive technology more consistently than I do now.

Oh, and get back to drinking yerba mate throughout the day.

be well and have a good one

edited to fix typing and stuff like a sticky f key

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --