Hey Everybody! This is Karen from Wellness Works NW. You know sometimes you get a song in your head and you can’t stop singing and it starts to bug you after awhile? People are trying to talk to you and you are still singing? That happens to me a lot. The brain is just amazing. Many moons ago, I guess it was about 15 years ago, I had a brain aneurysm and it just changed my whole world.
I didn’t know what to do next. There was some talk that maybe I needed to go to facility where they could rehabilitate me. I didn’t want to do that, but I did want to get better, so I worked really hard to get better and get mobility back. I am still working on it. A lot of people have had injuries, brain injuries, and it affects your whole life. It is a disability that you can’t see. I look good, but things weren’t firing as they should and I still have some difficulty with it, even now, but you have to have a different mindset.
They have proven it is not just mindset, but it is also science. The brain is one of the most resilient organs in the body and so when you normally think that if we had an injury like this that we would no longer be able to remember things, play chess or learn, but that is not true. Scientists have found out that you can create new pathways in the brain. You learn how to do new things like play an instrument or learn a foreign language to make it grow. You have to push yourself. It is all in how you look at things, but they have found in doing research that says we can move ahead and make wellness happen. It is something you have to face everyday but it is so exciting to know that even when we have damage in one part of ourselves, it doesn’t mean that you can’t create new pathways.
There is a word for this called: Neuroplasticity. You have to look it up.
So if you have you have an injury, and most of our clients are chronically ill, and sometimes with certain illnesses, memory loss is part of the illness…but you can keep moving, do something different, like learn to sing and create those new pathways.
We are going to be revisiting this topic at another time, but now it is time to Move it! Move it! Move it!
I have some things to play with today. Not everyone has these wonderful hand weights at home, but you can use anything, like milk cartons or books. I am going to use these 5 lb weights to do some Advanced Dead Lifts. I am keeping my body straight and I am going to bend straight down and leave the weights on the floor and come back up nice and slow. That blood is flowing! Next I am going to come back down and grab those weights and come back up. Now if you feel a little dizzy from this movement, make sure you go slow.
Remember before you start a regimen you want to check in with your doctor to make sure you can do this safely.
Now this is a different band. This is a large loop band. I really like this one. If you were playing around and stretch, you can even invent your own movements when you are playing with this. I am going to bring this around my shoulders and hold onto it with my hands and then bring them together, nice and easy to do a Chest Pull Out. Feel that resistance. You can work up a sweat doing this one.
When you get your equipment, use them! Now I like compound movements. I am going to loop this band around this part of the chair and you can do this with any chair you have at home, with a granny knot. Next I am going to put my knee on the seat of the chair to stabilize the chair. Next I will hold onto the band and do a Chest Push. The goal is to get my shoulder blades to touch. This is a really good trapezius stretch. A lot of time we lose a lot of strength in our upper back.
You can do all kinds of things with your equipment. Take them out of the box and have fun.
I appreciate your support. I am sending all kinds of prayers and positive vibes. See you soon!
If you have any questions send Karen G Clemenson an email.
If you need any help just to our Resources page. Our website has all kinds of great information that will help you.
#KeepMoving #WellnessWorks #WootWoot
One way you can suggest topics to us to go visit the Dear Jamie page on our website where you can email us with ideas that you want to learn more about.
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Karen G. Clemenson is not a doctor or a scientist. She is a real person that eats too much sometimes and misses her workout on occasion but is mindful of her path toward wellness, all the time. Karen understands that your physical wellness does not begin and end with your membership to a local gym. She knows that weight loss management begins with steps; some small and some large. These steps include diet, physical activity and retraining of the thoughts and habits that keep you from being successful on your path toward wellness.
