Back when I only did yoga I thought I was plenty strong enough and that what I needed was just flexibility. I am pretty mesomorphic and had no trouble with many of the yoga strength poses. Fast forward a year or so to the new Crossfit version of me. I’ve gained at least 10 pounds of muscle. A great surprise to me is that I’ve also gained flexibility. I thought I was strong back then!! Bah. Continue reading
All posts by sekoia
3 books
First published in 1990, Flow, by Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, is a psychology classic that still get referred to all the time among sports enthusiasts, biohackers, and those interested in finding the elusive ‘optimal experiences’. I finally read the book cover to cover and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. I found myself nodding in agreement, chuckling quietly, and enthusiastically agreeing. Flow is defined as “joy, creativity, the process of total involvement with life.” We’ve all been there – in the zone – and we all wish we could be there more often. Rather than give easy steps and recipes to follow, the author starkly reminds us that the best moments in life usually occur when we are stretched and challenged to the limit, and that these experiences are not necessarily pleasant in the moment. Yet people will voluntarily keep returning to harshly challenging experiences, and in those experiences, find a sense of freedom. Think extreme sports, concert pianists, professional chess players, mad artists…the list goes on. Being completely absorbed in what one is doing is being in flow. This book is a nice reminder that life is hard, always has been and always will be, but it is because it is so hard, not in spite of it, that finding flow is possible. Gosh darn it, so easy to forget when we’re constantly wishing for more ‘leisure’ time to do absolutely nothing! Continue reading
Becoming a Supple Leopard, by Kelly Starrett
First off the title. What’s with that? Yes, tongue in cheek, but serious in the sense that most of us are plagued with numerous aches and pains, and are horribly tight and stiff in many areas of our bodies. Unlike our feline friends who can wake from a deep slumber completely limber, we roll out of bed stiff as a board. Those of us past 30 do, anyway. Am I right? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a bit more flexible, relaxed, aligned and pain-free?
This book is written by a former member of the US canoe and kayak team who now holds a doctorate on physical therapy. He is so west coast cool you have to think deep to catch all the subtle lingo, and follow his drift. I’m thinking of his gazillion videos on his multi award winning blog mobilityWOD.
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n fact, he is often criticized for being so technical in his language he appeals only to elite athletes and other physical therapists. I say, if you have any interest in improving your athletic performance, rehabbing an injury, or becoming more pain-free, you will gladly put up with all the hybrid cross-fit language and absorb this book’s awesomeness. Besides, some of the language is just cute:
Pain-cave – where you go to work on your mobility, work that can sometimes be intense.
Don’t make a pain-face – as in, you might freak out other people in your gym.
Superfriend – somebody who helps you with your mobility by, say, smashing your quads with the bottom of their feet.
Smashing – rolling areas of your body that are tight, with objects such as foam rollers, lacrosse balls, or barbells.
Interested? Yes, or No? Place your hold here.