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It is hard to believe that only seven weeks ago I started on my journey to train for a 5k run. At that time, I had never run before, nor had I ever had a desire to run. When I first hit the pavement, it was really difficult to run and I had doubts as to whether or not I would be able to train and run the 5k on May 1st. I can confidently say that determination and persistence pays off, as I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes and under a couple of times now! My goal is achievable and I have gained a lot of self-confidence.
Accomplishments include running 3 miles in 34 minutes, beating my previous time by one minute!
Areas to improve upon . . . Running longer and building even more endurance. I hope to continue to improve my speed and time over the next several weeks.
Mind: Test your mental ability and flexibility by solving the following: 5=# of D in a Z C (see answer below).
Body: Yoga – 30 minutes.
Spirit: Get inspired by “Life is Like a Cup of Coffee”.
Answer: 5 Number of Digits in a Zip Code.
“Ignite a Passion . . . Live a Dream”
xxSperanza
Dianne Woodruff
Dianne Woodruff will take your teaching and your body to a new fitness level this April. Whether you are a Pilates teacher, fitness trainer or just a client, experience unique workshops to fine tune your body’s and your client’s connection to wellness and fitness. Lesley Powell
Dianne L. Woodruff, CMA, PhD, has been teaching for 35 years and has been in private practice for 20 working with people who have movement difficulties and unresolved myofascial pain. Her newest video, 3-D WORKOUT™, vol II, an integrated approach to fitness, was released in 2006. A Certified Movement Analyst with a doctorate in Somatic Education, she developed the anatomy curriculum for Stott Pilates in Toronto. She writes and lectures widely.www.body-in-motion.com.
Introduction to 3-D WorkoutWith Dianne Woodruff
Date: Sunday 11 April 2010
Time: 2-5 p.m. $120
3-D Workout is a low-impact, low-tech fitness program you can do anywhere. This workshop introduces you to the basics as shown on the DVD and then some. We use our bodies in three-dimensions at all times so your exercise should go beyond the conventional biceps curl and other single plane exercises. The 3-D Workout program, developed by Dianne Woodruff, CMA, PhD, is inspired by the Laban/Bartenieff framework. Available in classes and as instructor training, this workshop is open to all. DVDs will be available for sale at a discount.
Sacroiliac treatment protocolWith Dianne Woodruff
Date: Sunday 11 April 2010
Time: 9:30-12:30 $120
This workshop offers a step-by-step method of assessment and treatment for sacroiliac pain. It includes the anatomical framework and function, observation of whole-body and defined body parts in motion, various tests for sacroiliac dysfunction and methods for treating the problem. The workshop, aimed at “the dead seven inches” is an application of Bartenieff Fundamentals in a therapeutic framework. Open to personal trainers, pilates/yoga instructors and health practitioners. Taught by Dianne Woodruff.
Glute strength for true balanceWith Dianne Woodruff
Date: Saturday 10 April 2010
Time: 1-4 p.m. $120
We have only two legs and must stand on one of them to take a step. No one would argue the importance of good balance and prevention of falls. Balance boards and other devices are fine but the anatomical and functional issues behind bipedal stability deserve more attention. This seminar for pilates instructors, personal trainers and health-care practitioners addresses essential movement patterns for bipedal stability and a healthy back in a pedestrian culture. Such patterns were identified and researched by Dr. Vladimir Janda as early as 1964. Over the last 20 years Dr. Woodruff has developed an approach to assessment, correction and preventive exercise that you will learn in this seminar.
To register
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suavehouse113/ / CC BY 2.0
The digestive system chemically converts food for absorption by body tissues. In the stomach, food is mixed with gastric juices and broken down. Nutrients extracted from digested food are absorbed directly into the bloodstream from the small intestine. There they are carried to bodily tissues for energy and maintenance.Water and water-soluble substances pass in the blood to the kidneys. The kidneys return most of the water and salts to the body and excrete other salts and waste products.
Assimilaid nourishes and balances the organs that support digestion with herbs that help the body process food quickly and efficiently.*
For more information on Assimilaid or one of 400 other Sunrider products, please contact me.
Football (or soccer), kickboxing and rugby. I’m a huge fan of them all. Being from Ireland, I support Leinster and Ireland (duh) in rugby. In football I adore Manchester United and of course the Republic of Ireland. I’m a relatively new kickboxer but I have always enjoyed watching K1 kickboxing or similar Thai kickboxing sports. I’m pretty fit and due to what I believe to be a healthy lifestyle and gene pool luck of the draw, I’ve got a body I’m very happy with.
However, every single one of us knows someone who complains about their body. Yet genuinely lead a life devoid of any fitness routine and junk food. You really don’t need both of these things to be overweight or even obese. You need only have one of them. No fitness routine, or no physical activity means your not burning off your calories, so your body stores them, in the form of fat. Having some physical activity but eating loads of junk food can also be enough for some people.
Well here’s the thing. You can complain to me as much as you like about your weight as long as you actually are doing something about it. Notice I didn’t say “trying” there. If your going to whinge and moan about your arse or arms or thighs or whatever being too big then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Otherwise you will just simply annoy your friends with constant complaining about something they don;t really feel comfortable talking about. How likely is it that if a woman says to a guy “My arms are too fat” that the guy will then reply, “yeah, you could do with trimming them down”? It’s not going to happen. Too often I’ve fallen into the trap of agreeing, saying, “I agree, you could do with some exercise”. It’s always been a fucking trap, a way of creating something more to complain about. To complain to your other friends about your weight, and the fact that I agreed that you are overweight, well Jesus fucking christ, you are overweight! If your going to go around telling people something that’s true, then they are going to eventually agree with you, where is the surprise!?
Anyway, rant over. As I’m sure you are aware, this is based on a recent real life situation, so that’s why it was a specifically female example.
Happy Thursday Evening Bloggies!
Thank you for all of your sweet comments today-I definitely felt hung over from the migraine and still sort of do.
But I did manage to get through the day and to take Pepsi-Bear on a walk after work 
She loves to sniff:
And she loves to prance
I am obviously a crazy dog loving gal when I write about how my dog likes to prance!
Any other dog lovers out there? I know Joanne from Apple Crumbles is!
Okay so I need some serious advice.
This Saturday is a 5K and a 10K.
Last year I was putting in a lot of miles and did both races on the same day but this year I need to choose which one to do.
They are both a mixture of trails and street running.
The longest run I have done so far has been the b-day run of 5.6 miles.
If you were me, would you do the 5K or would you do the 10K?Help!
And of course if you have not voted for me yet, will you?
I think I am gonna make “burgers and fries” tonight. Andrea from Can you Stay for Dinner inspired me.
What are you having?
By Marcia Zimmerman, CN, The Zimmerman File
Exciting new information on the disease preventing roles of vitamins D and K has been making headlines. How did it happen that these two vitamins, previously known only for bone strength and blood clotting, have suddenly become so newsworthy? Let’s take a closer look.
Vitamin D Hormone
Experts maintain that Vitamin D deficiencies are implicated in 60 to 70 percent of total mortality in high-income countries. Serious illnesses that are associated with vitamin D deficiency include cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, autism, asthma, and a host of other illnesses. A recent meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials found that supplementing 300 to 2,000 IU (528 IU mean dose) vitamin D2 or D3 reduced total mortality by 7 percent. Vitamin D, in its active 25-hydroxy-vitamin D steroid-like hormone form, targets more than 200 human genes involved in tissue repair and maintenance.
One of the most important genes up-regulated by vitamin D is one that encodes for cathelicidin, a naturally occurring broad-spectrum antibiotic. John Cannell, M.D., a psychiatrist at Atascadero State hospital in California, who heads the nonprofit Vitamin D Council, maintains that doses of 2,000 IU of vitamin D taken daily for three days, might produce enough cathelicidin to cure common viral respiratory infections such as influenza and the common cold. Experts think that reduced exposure to sunshine during the winter months explains the seasonal ebb and flow of colds and influenza.
Vitamin D has long been recognized as critical for bone health, by regulating the uptake and utilization of calcium in bone. Now there is resurging interest in vitamin D and calcium homeostasis and osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Until recently its effect upon the cellular receptors in internal organs has not been fully appreciated. It is through these receptors that vitamin D prevents or treats various diseases. In addition to virus infections, these include cancer, and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D has been shown to reduce diabetes type 2 and inflammation. Experts further suggest that supplementing the vitamin may help lower risk factors for heart disease and hypertension, and that there is widespread deficiency of this important nutrient.
A June 9, 2008 article in the Archives of Internal Medicine by Harvard’s Edward Giovannucci, M.D. and colleagues, revealed that low and moderate blood levels of vitamin D are associated with higher risk of heart attack in men. According to Dr. Giovannucci, “These results further support an important role for vitamin D in (heart attack) risk.”
Vitamin K Biological Response Modifier
Since the time of its discovery in 1935, vitamin K has been widely recognized for its role in blood clot formation. Obviously this is a life-saving event but excessive blood clotting can also be life threatening – leading to stroke and heart attack. While life saving, blood clots can also lead to heart attacks and stroke. To prevent stroke in at risk patients, anticoagulants such as coumadin (warfarin) are widely prescribed. And in the past, doctors have steered patients taking anticoagulants away from eating too many vitamin K rich dark green leafy vegetables. This deprived some patients of the many benefits of adequate vitamin K levels.
Today doctors urge patients to enjoy dark leafy greens but be consistent in the amount they eat. This helps establish the proper blood “thinness” which can be controlled by proper coumadin dose. Cardiologists may not even be concerned about these patients taking vitamin K in a multiple as long as they have frequent INR (International Normalized Ratios) tests. Even more surprising, is the discovery that supplementing with vitamin K (100 @ 500 mcg) daily may stabilize INR levels in patients who have had difficulty maintaining consistent test results.
It is very important for anyone taking coumadin to make sure their doctor approves of vitamin K supplements. Those taking coumadin should also be aware that it depletes other key nutrients such as magnesium, iron, zinc and perhaps Co-Q10. High dose vitamin E may enhance the effects of coumadin and several herbs are contraindicated for use with the medicine. You can find out more about this in the Zimmerman/Kroner book 7-Syndrome Healing , which is available through NOW Foods.
Recent research has identified two other equally important roles for vitamin K. It contributes substantially to bone building and maintenance, especially in osteoporosis and fracture. It is estimated that one in three women and one in twelve men aged over 55 years of age will suffer from osteoporosis in their lifetime. Calcium, vitamins D and K, particularly among older people, have been clearly identified in the scientific literature as preventive of osteoporosis and fracture.
Vitamin K has powerful anti-cancer effects in arresting aberrant cells and amping up apoptosis (cell death). These findings stem from the discovery that several vitamin K-dependent receptors exist in cells and these regulate cell survival, transformation and reproduction. Petri dish (in vitro) and animal (in vivo) studies have shown that menaquinone (vitamin K2) inhibits liver, colon, leukemia, lung, stomach, lymphocyte, nasopharynx, breast and oral cancers. Some investigators report that vitamin K enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs.
