Mood Enhancers

Trigger Point Therapy Workshop at Urban Elements

- Mel

Last week I finally was able to check out the newest (and basically the only) yoga studio on the North Side — Urban Elements (they’ve also got a sweet cycling studio too). They hosted a trigger point therapy workshop aimed at athletes or anyone with repetitive use injuries or regular minor aches and pains; for two hours, we focused on myofascial techniques to work out our tension using tennis and lacrosse balls combined with yoga poses, which started at the foot and worked up the leg, hip, back, and into shoulder and arm. We completed one side, and then reversed to the other.

Bonus: we got a lacrosse ball to take home (and that thing really worked to get in those tense spots)!

Pedicure imminent!
Pedicure imminent!

The effects were incredible! I always have so much tension in my glutes and calves and shoulders, so I plan to bring most of these techniques home to my mat and make part of my weekly foam rolling sessions.

Not only was this workshop amazing, I really connected with the instructors. I think I found my new yoga home at Urban Elements (and maybe I will finally get back into spinning). Their location is perfect to walk to after work (now that I’m downtown), and I’m only a few minutes from home. ALSO: every Thursday night — a collaboration between Urban Elements and the local lululemon — there is a group run from the studio starting at 5:45pm, with a runner-centric yoga session afterward. SIGN ME UP! Everyone at every level is invited to join — and yoga is a community pay-what-you-can class.

I love this!
I love this!

Urban Elements
208 Federal Street, 15212
*right by PNC Park!

If I were 22…

- Mel

This post encouraged by the hashtag: #ifiwere22

Oh man, 22. TWENTY TWO. Seems like a lifetime from my current age. I lived my life and took it by the balls when I was 22, and almost poetically, lived a life consumed by balls. I basically had zero focus, motivation, or seriousness — unless you count All The Fun and All The Mens at my disposal as a task of 20-something goals. And dispose I did. Life was a party, and I was the life of every one. Sure, I enjoyed that lifestyle at the time because I lived by my own rules, but there were detriments to being the non-stop cruise director of Fun: excessive partying, drinking, smoking… tanning. Carrying more about dating and being pretty than finishing my degree. (Ugh.)

I was far from ready to be an adult.

To be blunt: my 37-year-old self wants to go back and kick my 22-year-old self’s ass.

There are times that I reflect on how different my life could have gone — I could have gone done some darker, scarier roads. Somehow I cleaned myself up after falling in the ditch… over and over and over again. But I’m here. Living it up at 37. Completely different than who I was when I was living 22. The Party Girl.

The responsibilities shift. The priorities realign. And you find a better self. (And hope that others see it too.) I surely still have work to do, despite my “apologizing” for a life time of mistakes in my 20s.

Regrets? Yep. I have a LOT of regrets. And mistakes. And fuck-ups (pardon). I’m not denying that there is an obvious connection of who I was to who I am. The important takeaway here is that people can change — for the worse or for the better — and only if they want to. And I’m ever grateful for those along the way who helped me towards the latter. The perceptions of YOU in your 20s might very well remain in your 30s. Know that reputations are hard to shrug. That process will take time, but change for YOURSELF (and get rid of the toxic people who don’t appreciate your new life).

I’m living 30-something proof that sometimes maturity and accountability comes a little late. And that’s OK. It’s also OK if you don’t want those things, FWIW.

If I were 22? No thanks. Wouldn’t go back there for a second.

Day fifty-five.

- Mel

A number seemingly insignificant for journaling, let alone blogging, but it’s Day fifty-five of my “new life” — or rather, a portion of it. I’ve been feeling like crap for the better part of two years, and then when my depression slowly subsided last year, I was still feeling… not myself. My body still felt wrong.

Fifty-five days ago I finally went to see a naturopath-slash-nutrition coach to get tested for food sensitivity — after my primary doctor wanted to put me on yet another prescription supplement (that my body wasn’t absorbing) and my gyno couldn’t definitively provide any answers to what’s going on with my old-lady parts either.

I’ve been on a gluten-free, no nightshades elimination diet since. I went all out on Day One, and yeah, I didn’t know what a nightshade was either. I did know that bell peppers were not my friend, and I had already given them up. The storm was greater than bell peppers and a little indigestion, however, and that is what makes this diet so. hard. sometimes (pick up anything pre-packaged and see the words “natural flavors” or “spices” — even if organic — and throw it away… because, nope).

BUT IT’S WORTH IT. I have energy. I don’t feel 20 years older. My joints no longer ache endlessly. I don’t feel lethargic. My productivity is up; my anxiety is down. My undereye circles don’t require eight layers of concealer. I am still dealing with some other mental things, but this diet change was a really important first step. Aside from being glutened something horrendous yesterday, I’ve been feeling really. really. good.

Myself.

Just without all the ketchup.

Growing Up Giving: raising a generation of charitable children

- Mel

The holiday season is more than giving gifts, it’s also about giving back. I love the idea concept of teaching children about charity because instilling these values early on truly promotes a philanthropic lifestyle.

The “Growing Up Giving” guide, from partners Macy’s Heart of Haiti and the Everywhere Society, is for parents, teachers and caregivers. Full of information, memorable quotes from society members and beautiful imagery, the guide promotes ideas about how to raise a generation of charitable children.

How are you inspiring and/or raising the next generation to be conscious of charitable causes?

Life’s Littlest Annoyances

- Mel

Are there certain little things in life that just… ANNOY THE EVER-LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU?

I have — well, had — two:
1. The cheap ass Mr. Coffee coffee maker that dripped EVERYWHERE when filling up the basin and during the brew process.
2. The silverware drawer organizer that had moveable parts and knives and spoons would slip underneath partitions… and get stuck.

These two things have been on my annoyance and Must Replace lists for quite some time… because, well, see the first line of this post. It kind of reminds me of relationships: you love everything about something (err, someone in this analogy) and then one day, all the little quirks make you recoil in disgust. That coffee pot had an amazing stainless carafe that held the perfect two-cup amount. That drawer organizer was easy to clean because of its removable pieces. Then one day, everything changed.

Look, sometimes life’s little annoyances are just that: little. Usually that feeling dissipates. If something so minute bothers to an extent of rage, however, it’s sometimes masking something MUCH larger (perhaps you need more sleep, Mel, or your boyfriend REALLY needs to fix that dripping faucet). But let’s be honest, a LOT of times, these events can multiply beyond the boiling point — building up to an eventual epic meltdown that you can no longer ignore. Day-after-day-after-day of being frustrated, the annoyed feelings transitions to anger. And then you break up. The end! Maybe that’s me and my tolerance for frustrating life moments (like, waiting for people who are habitually late… or, traffic). I’m terrible at managing or channeling that irritable energy. If you flare up just at the thought of walking into the kitchen maybe you need a coping strategy.

How to restore the calm:

Option 1: Accept the triggers; just don’t ignore the triggers. The latter will just come back with a vengeance. Either figure out how to cope with the annoyance, take a time out, or learn how to increase your tolerance of the situation.

Option 2: If Step 1 doesn’t work, remove the triggers or remove yourself from the hostile situations. Like how much did I have to deal with these annoyances? I’m a daily coffee drinker, and I eat at some point in my home every day. So I was attempting to cope every. single. day. Therefore getting frustrated every. single. day. I had to change the situation (which, in this case meant purchasing new items for my kitchen).

Option 3: Kick something. Kidding. Sort of. Physical activity is a known stress release — use its advantages on days when you’re feeling a spike of irritation in one-off events. As for other types of negative coping skills, like causing harm to yourself or others, these not only do NOT solve the problem, but creates additional problems. Don’t do that.

Group Therapy: Tell me your biggest annoyance in the comments and how you deal with the situation.

Holy crap, I ran a 5K!

- Mel

It was really a crazy thought process: oooh, hot apple crisp — I could totally run a 5K for hot apple crisp!

photo 4

Yep. That’s some self realization there: YOU SO CRAY!

And then I did. In the rain. Basically 2 out of 3 miles up hill. For this year’s Harvest Moon 5K, I placed 12th out of 16 in my women’s age group — ha, so not impressive on paper. Not only that, but with basically no running schedule or program aside from doing CrossFit and roller derby, I beat my personal record. My last 5K was somewhere around 3 years ago, and I clocked in at 33:some odd seconds.

When I was rounding the corner to the finish line, the clock had a 32 on it — a 32! I wish someone would have grabbed a picture of that expression. I ran so fast (yeah, not-so-much) that my boyfriend missed my finish. We talked before the race, and I was honestly thinking I would finish in 36 minutes, so he sat in the car because of the rain. I had already finished, almost puked in the parking lot, and ate an orange and my apple crisp before finding him.

race 5k apple crisp

Finished: 32:30

race clock finish 5k

Next up: Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving

Lost.

- Mel

So, I’ve been missing… I know. Let’s just say there has been a lot of emotional turmoil within a few months. The whole skin cancer thing really messed me up. I can’t explain why because on the surface it’s really nothing — or maybe I’m just trying to tell myself that — and I probably need to have my own therapist to work through it. While my scar is healing, the emotional part isn’t.

Bookending that: Three months ago, I lost my grandfather. Then, last month my grandmother went to hospice — she has been in steady decline over the last few years due to Alzheimer’s, and ended up in hospice after falling and breaking her hip (and not recovering from the surgery). Thankfully, we each had our own moments of clarity with her before she passed a few weeks later, which I will never forget.

Losing grandparents three months apart is heartbreaking, and it’s sad to think this might be the eventual separation of family. My grandmother was a huge part of my life — she’s honestly the reason why I was immersed in, well, everything growing up: ballet, piano lessons, art, theater, traveling. She’s also where I get all my strength. That woman was amazing. My grandfather, equally so. Their lives were full of love (married 70 years!) and family, and both were such open, gracious, genuine people. It’s a huge emptiness to deal with.

It’s no wonder that my relationship has suffered too. It’s too much stress and sadness for one person, and there’s only one person to bear the brunt of all that. Sad, but true. I’m working on it though.

For now, I feel lost.

Vacation flashback: LA to Phoenix road trip

- Mel

road trip from LA to Phoenix

On road trips, I usually drive. One, because I get extremely car sick; two, because I generally hate being a passenger (thanks anxiety!). I don’t know if it was the car or the scenery or my general well-being, but I didn’t not get motion sickness on the entire trip around Southern California and Arizona. I also never got to drive our awesome rental car. Alas, not driving provided me the opportunity to really take in my surroundings. These were taken during the final leg of our adventure — driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix to visit my siblings for a couple days before heading back home.

Just… beautiful.

Also, that bottom picture with our shadows? Totally getting it framed.