Transformation 2011 - Day 26

I woke up this morning and my body was pretty achy.  I’m performing in a show called Dancing Fools, which requires me to do some pretty physical stuff.  I think the show has a lot to do with the resurgence of my latent shoulder problems.

As I mentioned, I’ve been seeing my mentor, Body Tuner Shmuel Tatz for a couple of treatments so far and the experience has been quite enlightening.  I’ve blogged about it here.

I started off my Cheat day with a cherry scone from Amy’s Bread.  That and my morning coffee were all I used as fuel for my workout.

I was scheduled for a ten am work out, and I didn’t want to cancel, or be late, because my friend was expecting me at that time.  Making the appointment was a great idea, too, because once Saturday morning rolled around, I wasn’t in the mood to work out. I kept my appointment and dragged myself to his house.

When I got there, I started by rolling out my neck and upper back with my Therapy Balls.  This was such a relief!!  I love those things.  If I didn’t do that first, I’m pretty sure my workout wouldn’t have gone as well.

What I learned from Shmuel Tatz was that I have a pattern of holding a lot of unconscious tension in my neck and upper back.  So I’ve been practicing letting my head be more free and my shoulders to hang more loosely.

Today’s workout was very educational.  I made the commitment to focus on what Shmuel said, to keep my shoulders and neck relaxed and not to jut my chin forward or collapse into my spine.  I slowed down my movement and brought the intensity level down, so I could really be aware of going through all of my movements correctly.  

All six of the movements I’ve been working with this month went through a metamorphosis today. I learned why I have so much neck and upper back tension.  I hadn’t realized how much I put my effort and tension into my neck.  I caught myself using my neck to support and to muscle my way through movements that my neck had no business participating in.  

Going through the movements without that extra neck tension proved quite challenging, but the effort was totally worth it. During the workout, I got the sense that all of my movements were more supported and required less effort. Which is a no-brainer when you know that I was focused on releasing superfluous muscle holding. And after the workout, not only did I not feel jammed up, tweaked or sore, but I actually felt BETTER THAN I DID THIS MORNING.

The focus on my neck being loose and easy, changed the way I used my feet, my spine, my arms, everything.  It was actually quite an exciting experience. 

After my workout, I had a good stretch and took a shower.  Then I made myself a couple of slices of bacon (organic, preservative-free, turkey bacon) and two eggs, sunny-side-up.

After that I enjoyed a second cup of coffee and a big cookie (also from my trip to Amy’s Bread this morning) and a bit later, indulged in a sweet cashew bar.

Around four in the afternoon, I had a couple of slices of pizza from Two Boots, which held me until about seven. On my way to the theater, I picked up a couple of granola bars and a brownie, and I ate those in the green room before the show.

Then, my last snack of the day was Pralines ‘n Cream Ice Cream, with Butterfingers and Fifth Avenue Bar crushed on top.