part 3: transverse abdominis

This is the third and last installment of my 3 part series talking about the muscles I focus on teaching people to engage when they first begin working with me and what their physical, energetic and emotional connection is within the body.  Today we talk about the Tranverse Abdominis and it's role.
  
It is the deepest of the abdominal muscles.  That means it is the one closest to your internal organs. It is sometimes referred to as the "corset" muscle.  Its primary role is to provide support to the spine and increase pressure on the abdominal cavity (where the internal organs are) and thoracic cavity (where the lungs are).  The fibers run transversely across the body (hence the muscle's name).  When the transverse abdominis contracts, the linea alba (the center of the abdomen) moves in towards the center of the body as it is pulled towards all of the origins of the muscle.  So when I tell you to pull your belly button into the spine or pull your belly down, it is to encourage activation of the transverse abdominis.  The transverse abdominis is usually the weakest of the four abdominal muscles for many reasons, including back and hip pain, back and hip trauma, pregnancy, stress in one's life, etc.  It is shut down and not firing in MOST people.  However, Activation of your transverse abdominis is what flattens your belly, as well as supports the back and it is key in supporting your back and hips and working with any pain in those areas.

Being the deepest muscle in the center of the body and physically supporting the entire body, (particularly the lower back and hips) as well as being the connection between the lower part of the heart energetic center and the solar plexus (the center for personal power), it is very much a part of self-love, security/self-identity and belief in onesself.  The lower back holds a lot of security issues, stress and tension of all kinds.  The hips hold a lot of rigidity/flexibility issues as well as stress and tension.  The transverse supports both of these and when properly functioning, helps them both stabilize, thus balancing a lot of the: rigidity, flow, adaptability to life and movement, belief in onesself, security in who one is in this world and feeling secure within this world.  All stress comes from one trying to control the world around them instead of accepting what is, being with what is and moving with what is.  Stress comes from trying to make something, very often times everything, into something it is not.

Learning to engage the tranverse take a lot of practice and focus, and many people want to just gloss over it and let the psoas, arms and legs take over in movements instead of truly learning how to use it as it is designed to be.  There is true value in learning how to slow down and allow the body to be, allow yourself to be, and let something happen as it is supposed to happen instead of the forcing and making something work that we are all accustomed to and have come to believe is the only way to make changes...in fact, it very often stops true change from happening.  In order to bring the new, the fluidity and flexibility within one's body and life, one has to accept that learning how to do something different and allow that there might be another way to do something, anything, rather than what one has always done.  Learning how to truly use the transverse abdominis will translate into being more supportive and engaged in all of our movement, all of ourselves and all of our life.

I hope you have enjoyed the exploration of these different sections of the body!  As always, Please let me know all questions, comments and feedback.  Love to u...

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part 2: Upper back

This is the second in my 3 part Blog Series focusing on the 3 things I start every client learning how to engage and move correctly when they begin with me, no matter how long they have been working out (or NOT working out!) so we begin to build a strong foundation to truly changing their bodies in whatever way they desire.

The first installment was on the Glutes.  This one is on the Upper Back, which I work with through Shoulder Blade Squeezes and teaching people to mobilize the lower part of the upper back, which is generally very shut down due to many reasons.  The muscles in the Upper back are intricately intertwined with the neck, shoulders and mid-back as well, so I have included all of these and their emotional connections:

Neck
The neck is a two-way communicator: You take in life-sustaining food, water, and air through the neck, and at the same time, emotions, feelings, and thoughts are expressed outwardly through your voice. Stiffness here can indicate resistance, usually to other ways of thinking.

Shoulders
This is where you carry the weight of your responsibilities, whether it’s work, family, or mortgage payments. Creative energy flows from here, moving into your arms and hands, where it emerges in what you do in the world. Tense shoulders can also indicate resistance, perhaps to the responsibilities you feel you must maintain, or pressure that’s put on you to perform.

Upper back
This area, the reverse side from the heart, is where you can store repressed anger, resentment, guilt, or shame.

Mid back
Your core allows you to bend and move, representing your ability to be psychologically and emotionally flexible. Stiffness in the mid back can reflect an inner stiffness, holding on to a fear, or inability to go with the flow.

So you see, there are many things that are sitting in our upper backs and everything connected.  I work with all of these areas individually and collectively to help people get Pain Relief, Improve their Posture, Improve their Confidence and Ability to Connect with Others, Change the Way a Person Looks to Other People, Etc.  

We are Absolutely complex beings in any way and ALL of it shows up in our bodies.  Whatever your Body goals are...I can help you...call me!  (303) 525-7058.  Love you! 

The 3 things I focus on teaching people when they start with me

The main 3 things I focus on teaching people to strengthen and engage in their bodies when I start working with them: their glutes, the muscles in the lower part of the upper back and their transverse abdominus. I am writing a 3 part blog series to focus on each of these areas and their role in our bodies and lives. We, as humans, are as far from simple beings as there is. Our bodies, how they function and how everything is interconnected reflects this to an infinite and PROFOUND degree!

Everything in our bodies relates to everything else in our bodies as well as in our energetic bodies! We develop compensations physically due to other things that begin to not connect physically, but in truth, those things happen because of something going on within us emotionally as well. This week I am focusing on the glutes. Next week, it will be the upper back, then the transverse abdominus.

The glutes are the largest and most powerful muscles in our bodies. They hinge and support the entire body in most movements we do. We also hold much of our primal, sexual and creative energy in our hips, which are largely supported by the gross motor movement in the glutes. In most people, REGARDLESS of if you already "workout", the glutes don't fire. They don't support the body from this place of absolute and internal strength. This misfire and disengagement happens for many reasons: sitting much of the time, lower back issues, hip alignment issues (structural or otherwise), trauma to the back and pelvis, inactivity, improper body mechanics due to stress, etc.

So you see, we are complicated in many ways! The movements I do with people are simple, simple, simple, and easy to learn but also take focus and a desire to learn, change and do something differently, which translates to everything in every area of our lives. When we teach you to engage your glutes, we connect you to this huge power source within you, physically and energetically, that you have cut off...for whatever reason and the reason doesn't matter...what you do moving forward does. When you reconnect them, it shifts so much for you! In your body, as in your life, all it takes is a desire to shift, learn, become more powerful and stronger. Have you chosen this for yourself? Have you chosen this in your life? Have you chosen this in your body? I will help you chose it...all you have to do is ask. It's not always easy (what's the old saying, nothing worth having ever is?) and it is so worth it.

Call (303) 525-7058 or email me now, tracy@bodymindalignedfitness.com, to do a consultation with me and chose it for yourself!

Confidence.

Confidence is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets!

Confidence. It is a beautiful thing. Many women who come to see me want more of it. I teach them how to get it. Through movement, through encouragement, through them seeing it themselves when they've done something they couldn't do before.  Through them seeing themselves through my eyes and coming to believe.

1.  full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing: We have every confidence in their ability to succeed.

2.  belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance

3.  certitude; assurance

 

Vulnerability: being honest with how we feel, who we really are, letting another person and other people completely see us with our fears, what we need and asking for what we need. Ouch. Scary. Completely absolutely terrifying.  

Living wholeheartedly: with the knowledge that we are enough and deserve the best in how we treat ourselves and how others treat us in all ways: body, mind, personal relationships, spiritual life etc. EMBODIED CONFIDENCE. Know that you are enough and YOU are always worth it.  

Confidence. It is Having and Being ALL of this for yourSelf.

Accept and love your biggest Gifts and your biggest Challenges. They make us who we are...BODY, MIND AND SOUL! Embodied Confidence.
 Own it.

 

This is something I have worked on cultivating in myself very diligently for the last few years.  It comes and goes for all of us, it is simply a practice of practicing it, believing it and in many cases, practicing FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT!  

There is definitely something to be said for believing beyond rational believing.  There is definitely something to be said for intention and just going for it, no matter what.  There is definitely something to doing your best and accepting nothing less that the best showing up.  

I have also found that a CRUCIAL piece for me in finding and anchoring my confidence and absolute total belief in myself is having other amazing beings saying, "I see you!  You are absolutely amazing!  Be it!" and being there for and with me.

Let me be this for and with you!  You deserve ALL of this for yourself!

 

I offer Confidence and Women's Empowerment/Embodiment coaching with One-on-one fitness and wellness training. I basically work psychosomatically, physically and energetically with each individual person to shift themselves: Body, Mind and Soul!

I specialize in working with people (mainly women) to model, teach and empower them to become and BE more comfortable with their bodies, in their own skin and within their body-mind-spirit from a place that is less than loving themselves to an EPIC place of love & joy at who they are, within themselves & in their bodies.

I do this with 1-on-1 movement work, education about healthy eating choices, Soul Infusion Movement classes, Pilates based core conditioning classes, corrective movement, posture education, playshops, retreats and weekends built around women diving into their core essence & themselves in a very grounded & real, Body-Mind & Spirit integrated way.

Feel free to contact me anytime! tracy@bodymindalignedfitness.com

Vulnerability. Wholeheartedly.

Vulnerability.  I have been told that vulnerability is the key for me to get everything I want...romantically with a man, as well as professionally with the business I am creating.  Ok, Cool, Got it, Simple.  Be vulnerable.  Ummmmmm....what does that mean, anyway?  We bat the term around a lot, but what does vulnerability really mean and how do I be it?

Brene Brown is seen as a foremost authority on vulnerability.

Her take:  "The overwhelming message in our culture today is that an ordinary life is a meaningless life unless you are grabbing a lot of attention and you have lots of Twitter and Facebook fans who know everything you know.  I use the shame-based fear of being ordinary as my definition for narcissism...No matter how happy and fulfilling (a person's) small, quiet life is, they feel it must not mean very much, because it's not the way people are measuring success, which is just terrifying."

"The root of the scarcity issue is fear.  Fear consumes an enormous amount of energy in our lives, and to me it's probably the greatest casualty of the scarcity culture.  We are spending so much time and energy being afraid that we are not fully walking into our power and gifts."  In addition, "Joy is a daring emotion!  We are going to let ourselves stop in a moment that won't last forever, that can be taken away.  We feel almost that you are a schmuck if you let yourself feel too deeply because the bas stuff is going to happen."

She has coined the term "wholeheartedly" for the people who live their life from the feeling of being enough.  How did they arrive at that emotional place?  There are two things they share in common.  The first is a sense of worthiness-they engage in the world, with the world, from a place of worthiness.  Second, they make choices every day in their life, choices that almost feel subversive in our culture.  They are mindful about things like rest and play.  They cultivate creativity, they practice self-compassion.  They have an understanding of the importance of vulnerability and the perception of vulnerability as courage.  They show up in their lives in a very open way that I think scares most of us."

"When I asked people, 'What is vulnerability?', a large percentage of them used the example of "initiating sex with my wife/husband".  Yet, there can be no intimacy-emotional, spiritual, or physical intimacy without vulnerability.  One of the reasons there is such an intimacy deficit today is because we don't know how to be vulnerable.  It's about being honest with how we feel, about our fears,  about what we need, and, asking for what we need.  Vulnerability is a glue that holds intimate relationships together."

To me, that is the gold for me here...being completely honest with how I feel, who I really am and letting another person/other people completely see me, about my fears and what I need, and asking for what I need.  Ouch.  Scary.  Completely absolutely terrifying.

If I do that:  I open myself up to judgement about how I feel (especially if it's not nice, like everyone always wants everyone else to be and feel, real or not), I might have someone I really like and really want to like me NOT like me and that would completely destroy my little heart, I might confess my fears and what I need and be completely judged and rejected and if I ask for what I need and I don't get it, or, even worse, I get told that it's ridiculous, that would be completely devastating!

So, the alternative:  I live my life and do't admit or ask for what I want and what I know is my soul's longing and/or truth because I will be judged by others outside of my life.  Um, yeah.  That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.  I don't admit what I want and express and I don't get what could make me really happy.  Of course, I still might not, but I have NO chance if I'm not vulnerable with it.  I might ask for what I want and not get it, or I just might get it and WAY more than I ever dreamed of or hoped for, in all ways....

My sweet Daddy

My Daddy and Me when I was about 5.  (Funny, if you know me, I still wear my hair like this if it's up in a ponytail!)  I Love my sweet Daddy. 

I'd always been such a Daddy's Girl.  My dad was an absolute softball pitcher RockStar, verging on being semi-pro, and I grew up on the bleachers and yelling "YEAY DADDY!" at the top of my lungs every time he was on the mound.   He was just a cool dude, had a pretty rough upbringing, fought a lot and was a tough and scrappy little guy and I just thought he was the coolest dude who ever lived!

My mother was also the love of his life and when she died and he was suddenly a 36 year old man with 2 children under 10 and a failing business that his employees had ruined while he was caring for her in her last 6 months of life and he had lost the love of his life...he lost it, everything changed.  My awesome, amazing cool Daddy was a very lost soul.  Since then, I had not seen him really fully show up and participate in his life at all.  At all. 

He literally Stayed checked out until December 22, 2012, the day the Mayans said that nothing would ever be the same again.  While sitting talking with my brother and I that day, He shared from a very deep and genuine place within himself what really happened the day my mother died.  He had never shared this with us before, certainly never from this place.  She was very sick, the cancer was everywhere, in her spinal cord, her brain, everywhere...she was throwing up all day.  He was up for about 48 hours straight.  He was holding the pan for her, doing anything she needed, being there and loving her, no matter what, showing up probably more than my father ever had and definitely ever has since.  He went to sleep...he went to sleep for a very short time...and when he woke up, she was gone.  He STILL thinks he could've done something and he stills blames himself.  Irrational, yes.  The heart and Soul aren't rational, especially when it comes to the love of your life.  He showed up the biggest and the most powerful and the most he had ever showed up in his life...and she still died.  So, his pain had him retreat back in, even deeper. 

He still talks to her.  He still apologizes to her for not understanding that all she really wanted was for him to show up and be her best friend.  I also believe that he has spent his whole entire life holding space for her. 

So today, my Daddy lives a sweet, simple life in the country in Texas, taking care of his animals, domestic and not, and he loves it, taking pleasure in the little things in life.  He's had a pretty turbulent and in many ways disappointing for him life so he likes the simplicity and quiet he has now.  Simple, sweet and loving...he has brightened so many lives along the way in his life, people can't help but smile when they are around him.  We talked for almost 2 hours this morning, he genuinely asks and wants to know about what I am doing in my life and in my business now, even thought he doesn't really understand most of it, it doesn't matter, he's super impressed and he Loves me and is extremely proud of me...huge from a man who asked me if I had thought about "getting a job" less that a year ago...then a few months later, got me a necklace telling me to "shoot for the moon, if I miss, I'll only land in the stars."  Thank you Daddy.  I love you sweet Daddy.

R.A.W.

This week has been such a learning, teaching, challenging week for me. I found myself challenging even the very foundation of everything I do, everything I am and everything I think I know.

With all that I have been destroying and uncreating in my life (within myself), I have been asking lots of questions: What else is possible? What if none of anything looks the way I think it looks at all? How can my playshop contribute to herself? What does she want? How can my work contribute to my money flows (rather than me having to work my butt off to contribute to my work)? Why do I keep doing this one habit that continually trips me up and I can never seem to shift it? Lots of dropping in. Lots of questioning.

Feeling ready to just give up, having a very unstable client go off on me with a lot of untruths, feeling hopeless, feeling disappointed in myself for being this late person I've been all of my life and it gets me nowhere and is actually detrimental, looking at relationships and what is real and what is not, feeling completely raw and open to whatever...able to not judge myself with some of it, judging myself with some of it.

It's times like these when I rely so heavily on my support system. I could not do any of this without those amazing people in my life. They believe in me when I don't even believe in me. They tell me I rock and I believe them and find it within myself. They inspire me to keep working on and with the things I want to change. They show me other options and introduce other ideas and possibilities. The make it possible for me to move ahead, in every way.

So I forge on. Being completely human, screwing up a lot, being amazing a lot, doing my best and intending and/or working on changing all of the old stuff that doesn't serve me and actually hurts me. Continually questioning and continuing to ask for what I want to create to replace what I've cleared out of my space. That's all I can do, that's all any of us can do...that's what we are here to do, and hopefully we create more ease and joy within our lives and within other people's lives with just knowing we are all here, doing the best we can and loving each other through all of it...if I have ever disappointed you in any way, I deeply regret it. Please know its not my intention...and please always let me know...we are all here to love and help each other, in every way.