stress reduction

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Self-Nourishment: Releasing for Recovery

Are your muscles tense and holding a huge amount of stress?

Is your neck screaming at you? Maybe it’s your lower back that is barking.

Life’s challenges can be extremely stressful on your physical body. So often we hold our stress in our muscles and this leads to pain and discomfort. What can you do to get some relief?

To help release and let go of your tension, I recommend the top 3 basics of walking, stretching, and yoga. Recently, I experienced great release and recovery from a fitness class at Mountainside Fitness called “30 MIN. XPRESS ROLL & RELEASE” which used foam rollers and tennis balls to help us achieve the benefits of myofascial release and increased blood flow and circulation to soft tissue. I felt like a stick of melted butter after this class! It’s amazing what a bit of focused rolling and pressure point action can do. The result that night was the best quality sleep I’ve experienced in months.

To help us better understand and apply the release and recovery model, my good friend and Yoga Therapist, Nancy Martch, shares her wisdom and focuses on the importance of self-nourishment in our daily lives. More than self-care, self-nourishment is the intentional replenishment of vital energy and breath to the body. Just like it is beneficial to feed our bodies quality food and nutrients, it is equally important to fill up our body’s emotional and spiritual tanks with positive movements, reflections, and breath work. In addition to yoga and mediating, rolling and releasing can be key components to your daily self-nourishment.

Below is a slide I appreciated from a presentation crafted by Nancy, owner of Jai Yoga. As my Yoga Therapist, she has helped me to become more aware of my body and its response to external stimuli and trauma. Nancy has helped me to breathe, balance, release and accept. Yoga therapy is an outstanding way to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship. To learn more , check out this video. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @jaiyogahouston

It is my hope that you can release some of your pain and tension with these ideas and tips. Life is too short to be in constant discomfort and you deserve to have some relief.

Take care of yourself. Breathe, move, and let it go.

Self nourishment calls on the Mother within you to take action for your personal and specific needs.

Remember the 3 Rs of Roll, Release and Recover!

Namaste.

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Surprise! You are Ready to Rearrange

“Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed and rearranged to relocate us to the place we’re meant to be.”

I was shocked to realize that I ready was to rearrange my life, shaking it up like a red, 1975 Etch A Sketch- selling our house and moving to another city.

Whether you are resetting your priorities, refocusing your efforts, or completely changing your home address, change and moving are not for the light-hearted.  Change is hard and that is why most people don’t attempt it.  Leaving your comfort zone is painful and that explains why so many remain like the frog in the proverbial boiling pot. It often seems easier to do nothing than it is to take a step into the scary unknown.

But I am here to tell you, not changing or relocating may result in just as much pain and anguish in the long run (look to history books for numerous examples of this- 1939 Germany comes to mind).  

My recent shakeup involves two major areas of my life- my job and my home.  The catalyst was a down-sizing event at my employer of ten years and then the retrospective conclusion that my home was located in a place where I wasn’t meant to be.  It just didn’t feel right anymore, and I knew that a drastic change was needed.  So, I resigned from my dead-end contract job and my family put our house up for sale.  The house got an offer in 2 days with a short 3-week close date.  Wow was that shaking things up!  

The rearrangement continues as I sit in a coffee shop called the Ground Shaker and write this blog.  I am in the city of Surprise, AZ where we are fortune to be staying at the house of good friends who are snowbirds who flew to Colorado for the summer.  

So now I find myself jobless and homeless with all of my worldly belongings (minus my clothes, bikes, and Apple devices) in a storage locker in Prescott, AZ.   

Moving is one of the most stressful and tiring experiences and this is the 24th time I’ve done it in the past 35 years.  All of my immediate family lives in the same county where I was born and raised and I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I had never left for my first Army duty station after college.  A rolling stone may never gather moss but it also doesn’t establish strong and deep roots.  I do miss seeing my sister, brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews for the holidays and important life events. I miss and long for the adventures and trips down the shore with my east coast friends.

Relocating is all very unsettling and disconcerting but it helps when you know that you are doing it for a good reason.  Keeping a positive future state clear in your mind is one of the keys to reducing the pain of the change.  Visualization of a better place where I am meant to be is helping me cope with the waterfall of stress and angst. 

The ideas and images of a new house in a smaller, cooler town in the mountains are calming and soothing to the soul.  I’m hoping for that the higher altitude will bring better attitudes (or, to be more grammatically correct, higher elevations will bring positive revelations).  Less heat, more trees and lakes- that is what I need to keep my sights on- not this temporary sense of dread and unease. 

And so here I am in Surprise Limbo, experiencing the thrill of having my life completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to enable me to relocate to the place I’m meant to be.

Onward and upward!

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Does anybody really know what time it is?

I’m in a funky, themed house with dozens of clocks- all standing (or tilting) still with different times.

I even wrote on the wall in the kitchen- “Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?” These lines are from a great song by the band Chicago and it got me thinking. Is there any one thing that two humans can agree upon? Is the time on the clock the one thing that we are on the same page about?

Some of my friends are always early while others are always late. Why is that?

Could it be that the perception of time is unique to each individual mind?

Some people seem to appreciate and value time more than others. Some people are obsessive about time while others pay it no mind.

The one thing that is common to the majority of humans is that we don’t know when our time on this planet is up. If we all are on a “lifespan timer” or have a known expiration date (like in the movie Logan’s Run) , we would be better off ? Animals don’t be to care about this and they are always living fully in the moment .

How many humans live fully in the present moment? Why do so many people seem fixated on the past or worried about the future? Do our many clocks and time constraints drive this?

So many questions but not many answers on this topic. But what can I expect when I seated at the Tea-Party table in the Mad Hatter House (a cool AirBnB in Flagstaff, Arizona)?

“We are all quite Mad here” it says on the wall- plus “ It’s always tea time”.

Hopefully you will find more time for creativity and fun in this life.

After all , we don’t always know what time it is.

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Ernie’s Hedge Fun: Top 12 Posts

Ernie the Hedgehog came to our family in 2016 while we were visiting Estes Park, CO. He’s a 2 and a half-inch bundle of joy and mischievous antics. He is a great photography model and always brings a smile to the waitresses at the restaurants we frequent.

Ernie is the internationally renowned Facebook Group leader of Ernie’s Hedge Fun and has been spreading happiness and cheer since starting the Ernie’s Fake News group in early 2017. This was back when you could still joke about the election, the craziness of politicians, and the new media. We had a laugh poking fun at the insanity of the process. Ernie specializes in satire and slapstick humor though they are out of favor on most social media platforms now.

For hundreds of people around the world, Ernie’s page is a stress-relieving sanctuary where all are encouraged to think like a 2 and a half year old, apolitical hedgehog who loves cookies and playing jokes on his parents. He is also an enterprising entrepreneur who starts a new job 2-3 times a day. While his fear of water is subsiding, we are always sharing zany photos of his new hydrophobia therapists who are rarely human.

Below are the top 12 Posts from Chief Content Creator, Steve Smull in February 2023.

1. Ernie’s Back End IT Integration Service.

“When we’re done, you’ll have no idea what connects to what & you’ll need a fire extinguisher.”

2. Nobody told Ernie trains are supposed to stay on tracks before they gave him the keys.

3. Ernie thought those were Girl Scout Thin Mints so he ate them all and now he is flying around the desert sky with the roadrunners.

4. Honest Ernie’s Used Car Lot.   Reasonable prices! This one includes a FREE TREE

6. Of course we drove straight into the mud like we learned how to do at Ernie’s Driving School For Dogs.

7. Ernie managed to get oil on the ceiling riding this thing around the house.  There’s oil everywhere.  Ernie looks like one of the ducks that get pulled out of the oil spills in the ocean.

8. Ernie bought a long horse named Stretch Limo.

9. Ernie has hydrophobia, so he rides his inflatable unicorn in the sand.

10. Ernie’s Windowless Grand Canyon Tours.

If you look closely, you can see Ernie waving, he’s looking out from the under the steering wheel.

11. Ernie has standards.  They’re low but they’re standards.

12. Hop in and put your seatbelt on, no time to explain.

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Birds, Words and Green Trees

Every time I spend a few days away from home in a house surrounded by green trees, I get the urge to write. I’m not sure if it’s the clean air, the amazing views or the lack of distractions that prompts my literary desire to share my thoughts with you but here I go.

It could be the fact that I’m staying in a charming AirBnB in Prescott, AZ with my husband Steve and the owners from France have an amazing collection of books. Our bibliophile hosts feel like family to me as I view the many family photos on the white walls. I can feel the love and joy they get from cooking and sharing meals with their children and their friends.

As a recent and neophyte author, I have an immense appreciation for prolific and complex writers like Tom Clancy, Dan Brown and Michael Crichton. The main wall in the master bedroom has a large bookcase filled with pages of an adventure and intrigue. I could feel the emotion emanating from the titles on the spines.

So what is my story to share with you? Why would you be interested in my thoughts and experiences as I type these words from a wooden deck over looking the city of Prescott?

A large hawk just landed on top of a telephone pole about 50 meters from me. He hung our and watched me for a while and then flew off. Sometimes I wish I could be weightless and fly.

The morning air is clean and cool and crisp. My hands are getting cold as I type so I just grabbed my large, white ceramic mug of hot green tea and took a healthy sip. I look up again at the baby blue sky, the green and brown mountain horizon and feel a sense of serenity and gratitude. I feel happy to be able to share my thoughts and photos of this lovely place.

I feel connected with the trees and the birds and it brings me comfort and relief. I feel connected to the warm family that owns this home and as a result my own family in New Jersey is close in my heart and mind. I miss them dearly and look forward to my trip to see them in a few weeks.

The elevation of this property is 5,790 ft and I’m a facing due west at 270 degrees. My mind and senses are open to new input and information and I’m happy to chronicle my journey and share it with you.

I hope you have enjoyed my short and simple story of birds, words and green trees from Arizona.

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The Best Medicine

It’s so good to be sitting on the porch of a cute, cozy cabin and reflect on what is important in life. Health, family and friends top the list of most valued gifts.

Spending time in the greenery of nature is soothing to my soul and my morning walk did me good. This fun sign below caught my eye and got me thinking. What do I want and how do I plan to get it? Where should I go and why? So many questions are swirling in my mind.

The cabin I’m staying in is small and quaint. There is no Wi-Fi or Internet and uploading the photo above took over 5 minutes. During the time I waited, I thought more about what I wanted to share here with you. It slowed me down even more to reflect and creatively choose my words.

Here are some of my answers to the questions:

Who: Me

What: Calm my mind and heal my shoulder

When: Now

Where: In the woods of Arizona

Why: Life is short and I want to alleviate the pain

How: Appreciating the beauty of the verdant trees and the sounds of the birds.

Getting away from the day-to-day grind of work and chores is a wonderful treat. Strong and simple – just the way I like it!

So many of us are hurting right now, physically and emotionally, and my wish is that you can take a moment for yourself and ask- Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

The honest answers may be your best sign post to get you moving in the right direction.

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Letting Go to Unfreeze my Shoulder

It’s 102 degrees today in Phoenix, Arizona and my left shoulder is still frozen. It all started six months ago when I noticed that it hurt to move or lift my left arm.

In the last two months I’ve made some progress toward healing my arm and shoulder and am happy to report that the stabbing pains are mostly gone and I can put on my shirt with relative ease.  My range of motion, however, is not much better than it was four weeks ago. 

I am not a patient person by nature and it’s been very hard for me to slow down and accept the fact that my left arm can’t move or function like it used to.

Five years ago this summer, I wrote an article titled Mighty Gumby and the Importance of Flexible Strength where I reiterated some great advice I received in my Austin yoga class : “Flexibility needs to be supported by strength and stability”. 

As I look back on the 2017 photo of my back, shoulder and arms, I can’t help but feel a bit sad and dejected at my current state in 2022.  At this point, I can barely raise my left arm to be parallel to the ground much less flex my bicep. 

Me in June 2022
Me in July 2017

My friend and Yoga Therapist, Nancy Martch recently asked me,  “What is your arm injury telling you?”.  In my mind I rephrased the question to – What have I learned from this painful and physically limiting condition?

Here are my thoughts about recovering from an illness or injury:

  1. Be patient with your body.
  2. Slow down and appreciate the small, micro-improvements you see or feel.
  3. Be flexible and adaptable with what you can and cannot do.
  4. Be accepting of the situation and have gratitude for the strong and healthy parts of your body.  (I have new respect and appreciation for my legs and back).
  5. Do not compare the injured area or side of your body to its healthy counterpart (in my case my left arm to my right arm). 
  6. Do not compare yourself to anyone else.
  7. Let go of any expectations.
  8. Continually observe, analysis, research and explore new possibilities for healing and recovery.
  9. Listen closely to your body for it will tell you what it needs.
  10. Be kind to yourself.

These past six months have been a humbling experience for me as I come to accept that my recovery could take over a year.  I am doing all that I can to keep moving and positively support my body’s immune system.  The systems, habits and actions I employ include:

  • Yoga therapy
  • Physical therapy and weight lifting
  • Swimming
  • Massage
  • Anti-Inflammatory diet

A slow healing process is never easy but I’m optimistic that I will be able to lift my left over my head some day.  I have put the Mighty Gumby back on my desk so I can be reminded of the importance of flexibility and a positive attitude.

Here’s to Letting Go and healing my frozen shoulder!

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A Book Is Born!

I did it!

I published my first book, Strong Words and Simple Truths: The Courage to Communicate, on Amazon today.

To those who have been following and reading my blog over the past 8 years, I thank you for your interest and support of my thoughts, ideas and stories.

Words can not express the joy and elation I am feeling today. This is my baby. My legacy. My tribute to my family, friends, fellow veterans, and Toastmasters.

Over the last few months I have created new content and stories to weave the last 8 years of articles together. The book has 8 Chapters (Epics/Themes) where I grouped the over 80 blogs.

The chapters are: Communications, Toastmasters, Creativity, Veterans, Gratitude, the 1980s, Agile, and Science/Health.

What is the book about?

  • Courage, Communication and the American Spirit
  • Strength, Tolerance and Respect
  • Balance, Perspective and Change
  • Science, Health and History
  • Gratitude, Remembrance and Joy
  • Truth and Common Sense
  • Heroes, Adventure and Fun
  • Veterans, Poppies and Honor
  • Creativity, Toastmasters and the 1980s

An amazingly talented young woman illustrated the book with a fun circus theme that my mascot Ernie the Hedgehog endorses. Kudos to Alex Delit Garcia for her great work.

I don’t know what is next but boy am I excited and energized to share this news with you.

If you would like to purchase this fun compilation with a new, creative adventure throughout, please click on the image below for your very own copy. Here’s the book’s website.

Thank you!

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Ernie the Hedgehog Makes Waves and Brings Smiles

Ernie came to our family in 2016 while we were visiting Estes Park, CO. He’s a 2 and a half-inch bundle of joy and mischievous antics. He is a great photography model and always brings a smile to the waitresses at the restaurants we frequent.

Ernie is an internationally renowned Facebook Group leader and has been spreading happiness and cheer since starting the Ernie’s Fake News group in early 2017. Back when you could still joke about the election, the craziness of politicians,and the new media, we had a laugh poking fun at the insanity of the process. He specializes in satire and slapstick humor when though they are out of favor on most social media platforms now.

For hundreds of people around the world, Ernie’s page is a stress-relieving sanctuary where all are encouraged to think like a 2.5 year old, apolitical hedgehog who loves cookies and playing jokes on his parents. He is also an enterprising entrepreneur who starts a new job 2-3 times a day. While his fear of water is subsiding, we are always sharing zany photos of his new hydrophobia therapists who are rarely human.

This extraordinary Facebook group has had a number of different names over the years including: Ernie’s Fake News, Ernie’s Sandbox, Ernie’s Emporium , Ernie’s Oasis and most recently, Ernie’s Last Stand.

When I asked the FB group members to comment on what they loved most about Ernie’s group, they replied:

“ I love having a place where I can be honest.”  – Candy Lanning Holmgren

“ Where to start, ma ‘am?  I think Ernie’s stoic leadership in the face of constant threat of bans for thinking too much…. “  – Steed Owe

“Ernie for President…”-  Mike Hill

“Ernie gets my silly memes.” – Calliope Novak

“Ernie is never mean.” – Billie Batek

“Ernie’s taste in subversion is second to none.” – Eric Edelman

“Ernie loves cookies!”- Biggi Wimmer

“Ernie’s got a great wheel to follow on flowing but chunky single-track.” – Jeff Meyer

“Ernie lets me read his fan mail.” – Steve Smull

The Facebook Group’s Requested Style Guide simply states:

Think like a 2 ½ year old, 2 ½ inch tall apolitical hedgehog who is allergic to political bias and likes to keep the bar at least an inch off the floor.

The magic of this group is that it is a safe and happy playgroup where Ernie invites us to live, laugh and eat many cookies.  The small community of followers feels like an extended family who are helping to raise our impetuous young hedgehog.  

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Word Phobia Kills Creativity

Words have power. 

As a public speaker in Toastmaster clubs for over 25 years, I understand and appreciate the impact of a well-crafted phrase.   Words have the immense power to inspire, educate, persuade and entertain.

Now certain ideas, phrases and books are deemed inappropriate and unacceptable.   Entertainment in the form of humor and satire is slowly being extinguished.   The creative spark of many minds is being snuffed out.

In the name of “compliance” and “correctness” we have limited and constrained our ability to share and discuss ideas.  Only the government-approved ideas are allowed on the most powerful and prolific platforms.  Those in power control the narrative and are now limiting the free exchange and expression of thought.

Like the lockdowns of the past year, this is not a healthy trend.  The impact of the current silencing is devastatingly sad. 

Some say that laughter is the best medicine.  Entertainment and light-hearted comedy can help heal our lonely and wounded souls. 

Humor is a uniquely human superpower that is being taken away when we need it most.

Photo by Steve Smull

I do not condone angry, hurtful speech but the recent crack down on “violations of community standards” is a bit harsh and extreme in my view.  

Why do some powerful entities want to keep everyone so sad, anxious and upset?  Do they want people do remain lonely, isolated and frustrated?

More and more I am witnessing creative creators being suppressed.  These creators have been a shining light of entertaining wordplay and comic relief through out this year of dark fear and despair.  These fun and joyful voices are now stifled and suppressed. 

The fear of the virus is now being replaced with the fear of words.   The wide, rich and expressive vocabulary of the English language is being brutally pruned by oppressive control freaks.  

At the rate things are going, I soon won’t be able to write or speak the words “oppressive control freaks” without being banned or punished.

As I continue on my creative journey of expression, I hope that my courage and resolve remain steady and strong in the face of increasing pressure to conform and be quiet.

Word phobia is a sad new condition that I hope will be treated by an infusion of ingenious humor and reasonable common sense.

As the world begins to heal and open up, freedom will beget happiness.  Happiness is sustained by fun entertainment.  

Words have the power to entertain, let’s not take that potential away.

The Silence of the Lambs is a thrilling book, but I don’t want a world of the Quieting of the Sheep.

Photo by Steve Smull