Back to our regularly scheduled program.
Some of you may know from my personal FB page that my ankle has been locked up since the beginning of the week. I happen to know a really great place to get acupuncture Acupuncture Connections, (I only worked out of that clinic for 5 years!) so I thought I would get that seen to, as well as check in to see if my diagnosis was in the right direction. Well, pulse readings confirmed what I had managed to deduce from what my body was screaming at me. I got my ankle released (thanks Robert!) and a bit of Spleen chi support.
This was probably a good idea because of what I had in store for after.
As part of this experiment, I have been looking at other ways of how to get the most out of your life through the lens of nutrition. Another approach I know of is through blood type. I was introduced to this concept about 10 years ago when a holistic therapist asked me if I had heard of Eat Right For Your Type by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo. I hadn’t, so went to have a look and found Live Right For Your Type, which according to the back cover, “...shows how living according to blood type can help you achieve total physical and emotional well-being.” How could I say no? Especially since on the dedication page it says “For Martha”??
What’s really interesting is that the foods that Dr. D’Adamo suggests are similar to the ones suggested by TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Both say absolutely no wheat, dairy, alcohol or caffeine, very limited legumes and fruit, a reasonable amount of lean meats and lots of vegetables. (Quite a few of the specific legumes, fruits, vegetables and meats overlap and only a handful of glaring differences.) Although both cite one of the causes as heightened sensitivity and response to stress (in TCM Spleen is depleted by worrying, in LR4YT, the adrenal response in Fight or Flight) Live Right For Your Type recommends 45-60 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week. If you can change it up with weight training, even better.
Hmm. I have been having trouble getting to sleep due to mind spinning and worrying. Maybe one of the ways I keep from being depleted, ironically, may be through vigorous exercise.
So, I took a Ballet Barre class quickly followed by a Belly Dancing class at my new favorite dance/health/fitness studio, Diosa Dance Fitness. (Just as an aside, if you really want to improve your strength, tone and aerobic capability and have fun at the same time, do that combo for awhile!)
The shocking thing was, I wasn’t exhausted after I finished. My quads felt a little wobbly and I had that post workout dazed kind of feeling but I didn’t feel like a wrung out old dishrag. The brain did eventually shut off, but it took some reading and Yoga Nidra. I didn’t get to sleep as early as I would have liked, but once got there, there was no turning back! Even better, not much stiffness in my legs or arms today.
The other thing I like about LR4YT is that it he gives you serving sizes and number of servings per week for each type of food rather than calories. To be honest, I had no idea what a reasonable portion is or how much is a reasonable amount per day/week for normal metabolism. (I have left the Food Pyramid far behind...) And, quite honestly, counting calories is a pain in the butt, but portions are much easier to keep track of.
Even though I didn’t lose any weight since yesterday and woke up a little groggy (probably due to some really deep sleep), I generally feel more motivated rather than depressed at the huge amount of work I have ahead of me in the next few weeks. So, overall, I would probably rate my improvement as a 4.
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