Your Story: Tell it all
After countless conversations and listening to people's stories, something has become apparent. Most people are grappling with too much information and left in a sea of confusion. So let us begin with what you know about yourself and then creating a context. This will become your path to help you manage and achieve results. Wanting results, hardcore see-with-your eyes, feel-in-your body achievements is the same thing as creating a feedback loop. The objective is to herd you into the ring of action.
* What vision and goals do you have for yourself?
* Do you like to compete?
* Do you prefer team sports or individual prowess?
* List all the injuries and surgeries you have had, even the ankle sprains.
* How much activity do you do everyday?
* How do you feel in your body right now?
* Name a time when you felt strong and healthy.
Three lenses.
Take each or any answer and put it into one of the lens categories. Each lens creates a perspective and then leads you to a call to action. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. It is about getting you started and making smarter decisions.
Lens 1: Uptrain:
To increase the level of muscular activity and skills. This includes improving agility, endurance, strength, and learning healthy movement strategies.
Uptrain Actions:
Skills - Identify the muscle groups that are important for your activity.
Educate and practice - Learn about your previous injuries. Learn some exercises to improve their function. If it is is acute, see a Physical Therapist.
Go from weak to strong - Get to know your weakness. You may need an outside eye to help with this.
Budget - Invest in yourself and hire an instructor or trainer. Use them for their observations and plan-making. This can be a short term or a long term relationship.
Lens 2: Downtrain:
To decrease the level of activity. All action and no rest is a recipe for injury. Muscle recovery is important after any intense activity. Some muscles can remain hypertonic. This is an overactive muscle that starts to wreak havoc on one side of the joint. So it needs to learn how release tension and be in sync with its opposite muscle group. Downtraining can be done on your own or with competent guidance. This includes stretching, massage, rest, allowing an injury to heal, and re-patterning a faulty movement strategy.
Downtrain Actions:
Bodywork - Get a massage, or bodywork.
Go slow - Take a slow class where you can work on form and focus your mind.
Diversify - If you are injured, take the time to work everything else in your body except the injured part.
Go lighter - Do what you normally do but with less intensity. This is a great way to improve skills you may have been ignoring.
Lens 3: Do It Again!:
You know what to do, or have been told, and now it's time to develop and commit to a practice. Creating a practice allows us to have a structure that we can go to, even when we aren't "feeling it".
Do It Again Actions:
Fun Factor. Do you like working in a group? Do you like personal attention? The answer will lead you to either join a group, develop a buddy system, or find alone time.
Convenience - Make it easy! Find a studio or gym near your work, home, or near your favorite friend. Perhaps a home video or online class fits into your schedule perfectly.
Positive Feedback Loop - Get clear on the real benefits of being active. When you achieve a small goal, like go to a class, or take an extra walk, take a moment to notice the rewards. If you can remember pain, you can remember feeling good and tired.
Technology - This business is booming! There are some great tools available to keep you motivated. This can be as simple as a timer and as sophisticated as a Facebook workout group.
If working in the field of movement training and bodywork over the last 20 years has taught me anything, it is that stories of my clients are important. My eyes and ears have been witness to their increasing confidence at all ages and under many challenging conditions.This is why I do what I do, and why I love it.
Renee Orona has 20 years of experience in the field of dance, biomechanics, and movement education. She has a B.F.A. in Dance and has extensively trained in Pilates, the Trager Approach and other related modalities. Prior to founding Kinetic Body Labs, Renee was an instructor at Soma Syntax Studio, ShapeShift Studios and BUS in Los Angeles. In New York City, she taught at Power Pilates and was a master trainer at the Kane School of Core Integration, teaching students Pilates vocabulary, basic joint mechanics, and touch cues. Renee continually updates and integrates her education by studying with the best movement-based educators in the field. Currently Renee is accepting new clients, developing home programs for self-care, and teaching educational workshops. Kinetic Body Lab is passionately committed to helping you improve your everyday life, maintaining the spirit of play, and using the latest knowledge to facilitate technical precision. kineticbodylab.com