The Benefits of Walking

As many of you know, I do Crossfit and I love it (a workout program designed to vary your workouts, intensity, and increase all aspects of fitness). I also have developed a skill and passion for running, which Crossfit has inadvertently made me better at. However, what most of you don’t know is how much I love the act of simply walking. Before doing Crossfit and before running, I started my fitness journey a few years ago with simply walking and moving forward one step at a time.

In June 2013, I felt God calling me to seriously commit to taking care of my whole health – physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. I started to go through some old First Place 4 Health materials I had (a Christian holistic health program) and committed to following the Food Pyramid and to exercising consistently. My exercise program started off with  walking around the track a few days a week, as well as some light strength training and stretching (pilates and yoga). I fell in love with walking and stretching in particular because they were honestly, so relaxing and mindless which allowed me to just take the time to breathe, reflect, and even enjoy nature’s tranquility. I personally love to take a walk on the weekend where I listen to some Christian Worship Music, pray and just listen to God. It not only relaxes me, but puts me in a posture of listening and reflection to hear from God and just rest.

In an article by Sally Augustin, PHD of Psychology Today called Go for a Walk , she mentions the following potential mental benefits of walking:

• Your cognitive performance improves – your working memory (important for reasoning and learning) is better when you’re moving than sitting still
• Walking in the day –  Keep our circadian rhythms appropriately aligned with the place that we live (reducing stress) as well as improves our mood and general feeling of well-being
• Walking outside – Allows the cognitively exhausted (from a long day of work, tasks, etc.) to be mentally restored and refreshed

The Better Health Channel outlines in a series of articles on walking that there are also possible physical benefits of walking, such as:

• increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness
• reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
• improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes
• stronger bones and improved balance
• increased muscle strength and endurance
• reduced body fat

Furthermore, walking is super easy to do! It’s low impact, requires minimal to no equipment (need good shoes though), can be done whenever, and is also a great relationship building activity. I absolutely love to go on walks with my  husband, friends, family and just catch up on life while enjoying nature and some activity.

The great thing about walking as well is that it’s a great starting point for physical activity! Do you think that I thought 2 and a half years ago I would ever run a 5k/10k or do Crossfit? DEFINITELY not, but I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that if I didn’t start somewhere, if I didn’t start walking.

My friends, exercise does not have to be as intimidating as we make it out to be. It’s not about being the top athlete with the most defined body. It’s not about being intense with your speed walking and arms to the point it looks like you’re punching someone as you walk. It’s about taking charge of our health and moving the limbs, joints, muscles and BODIES that were meant to move.  I challenge you this year to find some physical activity that you enjoy and can be consistent with. If you don’t know where to start, well *cough* start with walking!

There are many great walking plans out there. Here is a great website I found that outlines Beginner Walk plans, Information about Nutrition and Injuries, how to train for a race, etc. If you’re interested in that, check out the website here.

So, put on those sweats, dust off those shoes, and move those feet one at a time.

 

Tea Time in Cayman: Detox Me!

There is nothing better to warm you up than a good cup of tea. There’s also nothing better to provide antioxidants, digestive cleansing, stress relief, and energy than a good cup of tea. And who better to get high quality tea from than a local tea company called Tea Time in Cayman?

Tea Time in Cayman is owned and run by Kadi Pentney and Kelli Dawson. During busy season at PwC Cayman one year, Kadi and Kelli started talking in the kitchen and realized how much they both loved tea. It wasn’t too long after that that they decided to start Tea Time in Cayman in order to provide other tea lovers in Cayman with premium loose leaf tea, teaware and tea-themed gift baskets.

With over 36 varieties to choose from, Tea Time has provided the community with loose leaf tea that is filled with flavor, aromatic scents, and most importantly teas that may assist with various health conditions. Tea in general may:

• Reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer
• Aid in digestion and ease Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, and heartburn,
• Stimulate weight loss
• Relieve anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disorders, menstrual cramps
• And tea also contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which inhibit the oxidation of molecules in our body

All 36 varieties of loose leaf tea and all teaware are available at Bay Market in Camana Bay. A selection of the loose leaf teas, teaware and gift baskets can be found at various supermarkets, retail stores and restaurants around Grand Cayman. For more information on where you can find the teas, check out Tea Time’s website here.

About a week ago, I was thinking about different people in Cayman who also have a heart for health and some of the first people who came to my mind were Kelli and Kadi. I met both of these ladies through PwC Cayman and have had the privilege of personally drinking their teas on a regular basis at home and at work. I asked these ladies what they thought about me featuring a Tea of the Month here on Made Well and they were more than delighted and said yes!

So over the course of the next year or so, I will feature their various teas on my website and share my own personal experience with each tea, as well as possible health benefits and where you can purchase these teas.

This month’s tea is Detox Me!, a Senna Leaf based tea known for its detoxing and medicinal properties. Filled with 100% natural ingredients, aromatic herbs, essential oils, licorice root, and so much more, this tea may help you cleanse and detox your digestive system and colon in lieu of the Christmas Holidays. Tea Time in Cayman describes this tea as the following:

“Senna is a shrub native to North Africa and Arabia used for centuries as a laxative, cathartic and purgative. Senna’s leaves and seeds are medicinal, but should be used modestly. Because of its glycoside content, which helps transport electrolytes, it works to cleanse the colon creating a bowel movement that usually occurs within 6 to 12 hours after it is taken. Senna leaf contains essential oils, resin and tannin and it is best to take senna with aromatic herbs such as ginger, which help diminish flatulence that can ensue due to the herb’s strong purgative action. Ginger has a very calming effect on the bowels and digestive system because it acts as a fat burner, it can help to ensure that the weight you’re losing is from fat and not just general weight or water loss. Licorice root has been known to assist with lowering cholesterol and acid reflux, and cinnamon is known for its anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties. With all these health benefits packed into on tea, if you’re looking to detox, we suggest Detox Me!

Disclaimer: You should not consume this tea if you have any type of heart condition or gastrointestinal disorder or during pregnancy, menstruation or while breastfeeding. At a very maximum, this tea should not be used for more than two weeks consecutively.”

This past week, I personally drank a few cups of the Detox Me! tea and found that it actually tasted better than I thought! When you think about Senna Leaf or any natural/medicinal herb or leaf, you don’t think it’s going to taste good – but this tea did! By adding cinnamon, licorice root and ginger, Tea Time in Cayman has given this tea a refreshing, aromatic and natural taste to it, and has made it enjoyable to drink. Detox Me! also definitely helped cleanse my digestive system, as well as made me feel lighter and cleaner inside overall. As someone who has had digestion issues in the past, having natural products that can help heal my digestion and cleanse me naturally is very important to me. I regularly make it a practice to drink teas such as Tea Time’s Skinny Lemon Grass which has been known to have anti-inflammatory and digestion aids. I also regularly drink green juices and Kambucha (fermented tea filled with good bacteria/probiotics).

Yet, I know that detox drinks and foods sound scary and many people are afraid of what they will do to their body and systems. There is fear around how often and when it will send you to the bathroom, what that experience will be like, and when the detoxing will stop.. My advice to you is to not be afraid of detoxing or the Detox Me! tea. If you are someone who has digestion/gastro-intenstional or even bowel movement issues, I would approach detoxing with caution but I wouldn’t be afraid. Something like this tea can actually be quite good for you, when consumed in moderation. If you are concerned with how much tea to drink in one day or a week, feel free to reach out to your doctor or even Kadi and Kelli at info@teatimecayman.ky for more advice on the detoxing process. Do not let the fear get to you if this tea is something you want to try. Reach out to those who have more experience in detox drinks/foods and incorporate these drinks and food into your diet slowly.

So now, the ball is in your court! My friends, I encourage you all to go out and not only try the Detox Me! tea, but to also try some of the other amazing teas Tea Time in Cayman has to offer. Trust me, once you have tried Tea Time’s natural and flavorful loose leaf teas, you won’t want to go back to having any tea you had before. Tea Time in Cayman is high grade, top quality and delicious – all the qualities you want in any healthy, natural drink or product.

Mobility: Why we need to do more than stretch

Mobility is an act of fitness that is foreign and/or not practiced by most individuals. Mobility is literally about getting your body to be more mobile, agile, loose, and able to support you no matter what activity you are doing. For many years, all I thought was important when it came to exercise was cardio, strength training and stretching. However, it wasn’t until I joined Crossfit over a year and half ago that I realized my body, our bodies need much more than those just those things – it needs mobility.

So I asked my friend Nicole Crance, Coach & Trainer at Crossfit Cayman, to write an article on what Mobility is and the importance of everyone (not just Crossfit folk) incorporating it into their daily lives. She knows way more about it than I do, and she’s awesome and what she does as a coach.

So take a read but also, go out there and get some tools to help you mobilize!

Mobility

by Nicole Crance

One recent Friday night, my boyfriend, Max, sat down very slowly on my couch and grunted, “Babe, I’m so sore. I can’t move my arms…or my legs…or my feet…basically, nothing. Help.”

I sighed and asked, “Have you mobilized?”

“Yeah….” (which obviously meant ‘no.’)

I walk over to my ottoman and pull out a softball and a lacrosse ball, and tell him to lay facedown on the ground. Frightened, he inched his way down, saying ow! the whole time. I placed the softball at the corner of his chest, right where it meets his armpit (anterior shoulder area), and told him to firmly lay down on it, crossing his arm behind his back and press his bodyweight into the ball so it could massage the knots. He started, and he screamed.

It was funny.

My question is, how do people, on a daily basis, go workout while being so stiff, so sore, so immobile? Really and truly, it’s because they just assume that’s the way it is and don’t know about the saving healing powers of mobility.

What is mobility?

In a nutshell, it is personal physical therapy (and no, it’s not stretching). There are so many tools and movements designed to pinpoint specific muscles and tissues in your body to enable them to be used to their full potential without pain, either in a workout or in daily life. MobilityWOD’s Kelly Starrett, a certified doctor of physical therapy and a Movement & Mobility CrossFit Coach said it best on his website (www.mobilitywod.com), “[Mobility] is the ultimate guide to resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing athletic performance. Humans have been evolving for 2.5 million years and the human body is extraordinarily engineered. While people are born with this incredible machine, they aren’t born with the right software to run that machine.” A machine. Your body is a machine. A car is a machine. What would happen if you stopped taking care of the daily maintenance on your car? The gasoline? The oil checks? The fluids? The whatever else there is to check in the car…? Maintenance is required to keep a machine running to its full potential. Need I say more?

 So, what do I do?

At our gym, we have developed an atmosphere of importance in taking the time to mobilize. As a fitness trainer, it is my job to help you ensure you spend your time mobilizing properly before a workout. Everyday, I write the workout of the day (WOD) on our gym whiteboard and right next to it, I write up a bulleted list of some mobility ideas that are catered to the workout. For example, if we’re running a lot that day, I will post the rolling out of the feet with the lacrosse ball, the rolling out of the calves with the kettlebell handle, hamstring flossing with the mobility bands…you get it. When do we do this? Before every single workout, either led by a coach, or on your own before class begins. The beauty of this? Everyone knows what to do because we make it a priority to teach everyone how to mobilize when they first join our gym and go through our Beginner’s Course. That. Is. Awesome.

How much time does this take?

In a perfect world, you would spend hours and hours mobilizing because it’s so great finding all the hot-spots on your body and being able to possess the power to remedy them. BUT, considering we don’t really have that kind of time, all it takes is you deciding what spot needs the most attention at any given moment. What’s hurting the most? Maybe nothing is hurting, but what muscles are you using the most during your workout that day? Maybe you’ve been sitting all day at your office job and now your hips are super tight. Rolling out on the foam roller for 5 minutes could make you feel like a brand new person.

 What tools do I use?

First off, we sell most of these tools at CrossFit Cayman, or you could buy them online at places like roguefitness.com or mobilitywod.com.

Each one of these tools and more are strategically placed in various places all over your body to keep the muscles and tissues loose and fully equipped to be used in your daily life.

 The Gemini

Mobility Bands

 The Voodoo Floss

 Lacrosse ball and Softball

 

 

 Foam Rollers

 

 

So whatever happened to Max? After much pain, and almost tears, he finished his mobility. The next day, he sat down on my bed, and I punched him in his quads, he never moved. Then, I punched him in the anterior shoulder, previously his terrible pain-causer, and nothing, he never moved. He just looked at me blankly and said, “Nope. No pain. Mobility, man. It’s magic.”

Organic vs. Non-Organic Food

I’ve been learning a lot about Organic vs. Conventional produce and meats, as well as GMO’s. There is so much research out there advocating for Organic food then research that says Organic vs. Non-Organic doesn’t matter. Well, instead of writing a blog about my thoughts around the issue, I knew my friend Kalila wrote a great article on it awhile back that highlighted both sides of the argument, as well as challenged readers to take action and also think for themselves.

With her permission, I’m re-posting her article so that we all may learn more and be challenged to make changes in our produce and meat selections.

Have a read, think it through, and enjoy!

Dr. K’s Article: Organic vs. Non-Organic Food