COAST KINETICS BLOG

The path that speeds us toward our dreams can be a challenging and complex one, so it’s easy to get bogged down in confusion and insecurities. We often hesitate at the start of that path, questioning our purpose or our capabilities. Yet we should be moving forward joyously, eager to discover what destiny has in store for us. The universe has plans for us that eclipse anything we have dreamed of thus far. Though we must work diligently to fulfill our potential and to accomplish our individual missions, the universe is aware of both the quests we chose before birth and the goals we have formulated in adulthood. If we accept that it us watching over us and believe that it will facilitate our eventual success, the universe will provide us with the assistance and opportunities that enable us to make significant progress on our journeys of ambition.

Nothing happens without a purpose. Whether we attract success or repel it depends on our willingness to stay open to a wide range of possibilities and to embrace concepts like synchronicity. The universe is always ready to care for our needs, but we must not write off its loving attention as mere circumstance or chance. Likewise, we must endeavor to ensure that our egos do not become a barrier that prevents us from recognizing that even perceived mistakes and strife can be profound lessons that smooth the progress of personal evolution. When we understand that we only need to enthusiastically try our best to realize our objectives, the universe will take care of the details, propelling us forward in its unstoppable current. We may not always immediately understand the significance of certain experiences, but our trust will help us choose wisely at each crossroads.

The universe wants to see you accomplish your goals. No matter how long you’ve dallied or hesitated, it will always be there to put its plan for you in motion at the first sign of your faith. You can make the most of this aid by acquiescing to it rather than fighting it—nurture your dreams but do not attempt to micromanage every detail along the way. The universe will provide you with guidance and, if you heed that guidance, you will find your formerly stressful quest for success will become a journey of great joy.

Daily OM

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• black-eye beans (soaked overnight in cold water)
• sliced carrot
• beansprouts
• sliced red pepper
• sliced cabbage
• 1 teaspoon of cold pressed hemp oil
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Equipment:

All you need is a mixing bowl!

Preparation:

Mix all the vegetables together in a bowl. Then, add in the sea salt, lemon juice and season with the hemp oil. That’s it!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup of spring salad mix
• 1 cup of cabbage slaw (sliced raw cabbage & shredded carrots)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• parsley flakes
• splash of olive oil and lemon juice

Equipment:
Really nothing is needed beyond a cutting board and knife, and a bowl with spoon for mixing

Directions:
1. Place the handfuls of baby spinach into your mixing bowl. Then add the cup of spring salad mix. Blend all of the leaves together.

2. Add in one cup of cabbage slaw and mix it with the leaves.

3. Slice your red onion in half and then slice it vertically and horizontally to get nice small chunks of onion. Toss those into your salad.

4. Peel the skin of the cucumber if it is not organic. Then slice it long ways down the middle. Turn each half so that the flat side is on your cutting board. Then cut nice chunky slices and add them into the salad.

5. Take your avocado and remove it from its skin (If you’re not sure how to do this, read our article on Avocados). Slice your avocado into small chunks and toss them into your salad.

6. Slice your red bell pepper in half. For the half you are using, cut both horizontally and vertically to create small squares (similar to the size of what you might find in a chunky salsa). Add these to the salad.

7. Sprinkle in the parsley flakes

8. Add a dash of lemon juice and olive oil and mix well.

9. Serve in a plate or bowl and enjoy!

Anything worth doing will always have some fear attached to it. For example, having a baby, getting married, changing careers—all of these life changes can bring up deep fears. It helps to remember that this type of fear is good. It is your way of questioning whether you really want the new life these changes will bring. It is also a potent reminder that releasing and grieving the past is a necessary part of moving into the new.

Fear has a way of throwing us off balance, making us feel uncertain and insecure, but it is not meant to discourage us. Its purpose is to notify us that we are at the edge of our comfort zone, poised in between the old life and a new one. Whenever we face our fear, we overcome an inner obstacle and move into new and life-enhancing territory, both inside and out. The more we learn to respect and even welcome fear, the more we will be able to hear its wisdom, wisdom that will let us know that the time has come to move forward, or not. While comfort with fear is a contradiction in terms, we can learn to honor our fear, recognizing its arrival, listening to its intelligence, and respecting it as a harbinger of transformation. Indeed, it informs us that the change we are contemplating is significant, enabling us to approach it with the proper reverence.

You might wish to converse with your fear, plumbing its depths for a greater understanding of the change you are making. You could do this by sitting quietly in meditation and listening or by journaling. Writing down whatever comes up—your worries, your sadness, your excitement, your hopes—is a great way to learn about yourself through the vehicle of fear and to remember that fear almost always comes alongside anything worth doing in your life.

Daily OM

I was curious to see the nutritional breakdown on cherries since they are so easy to eat this time of year. 

• Nutritional value (1/2 cup/125 mL): 46 calories, 1.5 g fibre, rich in antioxidants
• Disease-fighting factor: Sour cherries contain more of the potent antioxidant anthocyanin than any other fruit. Anthocyanin may help reduce inflammation and ease the pain of arthritis and gout.
• Did you know? Sour cherries, commonly used in pie and jam, have more vitamin C than sweet cherries do, but much of it is lost when they are heated.

How often we must bear the challenges of life;
The endless roller coaster between happiness and sorrow;
The constant ups and downs of daily strife.
And always the question remains …. why?

Life is not an easy road for most;
It twists and turns with many forks in the road,
Although always, and inevitably, we are given a choice …

Do we turn to the right … or the left?
Do we take the high road … or the low road?
Do we take the easy path … or the difficult one?

Decisions are not easy for those struggling for direction …
And sometimes the many choices and signs become overwhelming.

While standing at a crossroads in life,
The urge is to take the most comfortable path;
The road with least resistance …
The shortest or most traveled route.

And yet, if we’ve been down that comfortable road before;
Have gleaned its lessons in life, and learned from our experiences;

Do we yet again follow the known?
Or does our destiny lie in another direction?

The fear of the road less traveled is tangible and all too real;
It manifests itself in many ways,
And tends to cloud the issues that might otherwise be clear.

It is in these times of confusion,
That we must seek peace and solitude;

Time to contemplate on our life,
Our experiences and our choices past;
Time to look back, and reflect on what we have learned
Without fear or confusion.

For only each of us knows our own personal thoughts;
Our unique past and personal history;
The experiences that brought us to the crossroads we now face.

We can always learn a small degree from others experiences,
And yet … no one person can walk in our shoes,
Others know not, the trials and tribulations faced in private …

For each is individual … unique … and personal.

And that is why … while standing at a crossroads,
Only “we” can formulate the decision for ourselves;
The true direction that lies within;
The choices we must deliberate on with clarity and wisdom.

For it is only through personal reflection,
That we can now choose our destiny;
… Our next adventure;
… And the future we will embrace.

by Kit McCallum

 

The term “stretching” basically refers to lengthening a muscle with force.  This force on the musculotendinous structures has proven to reduce stiffness and improve joint range of motion.  Depending on the application, there are a number of different kinds of stretching techniques used by practitioners, athletes and the general population to achieve this result.  This article will focus on the two most common forms of stretching; static and dynamic. 

Static stretching refers to elongating the muscle to the point of discomfort and then holding the stretch for a period of time to further elicit the stretch.  On the contrary, dynamic stretching consists of repeated bouncing movements at the end range of the muscle length.  This movement stimulates the stretch reflex which may help increase the coordination of subsequent movement.  Both static and dynamic each have their purpose in sport specific training, general fitness and rehabilitation.

A question that is commonly asked and now has about ten years of research to support the findings is “When do I dynamic stretch and when do I static stretch?”.   Dynamic stretching is recommended at the beginning of the workout and should mimic the sport or training exercises that follow.  An example of the application of a dynamic stretch would be right before a soccer game.  Players should be progressed in the warm-up along the control, speed and complexity continuum.  This movement stretch prepares the muscles for maximal muscular performance and minimizes the risk of muscular injury.  Static stretching is recommended during the cooldown phase of the workout since the goal is to return the muscles to the lengthened state.  This type of sustained stretching should be injected at the end of weight training, cardiovascular exercise and sports activities.  Up to four to five stretches, held from 20-30 seconds, are recommended for each major muscle group.  Static stretching is also commonly used in the rehabilitation of soft tissue injuries.

Teresa Gillard for Shave Magazine

Most of us have suffered through at least one bout of low back pain in the course of our lifetime.  The occurrence is alarmingly quite high, affecting approximately 60-80% of the adult population.  In fact, physicians report that low back pain is so prevalent; it is second in medical visits to the common cold.   In some societies, the financial drain of low back pain (LBP) exceeds that of coronary artery disease and diabetes combined. 

The majority of LBP can be classified as mechanical; including problems affecting the many joints, discs, ligaments and muscles of the spine.  Most risk factors related to muscle performance can be prevented by taking a proactive approach.  By ensuring an exercise program has an adequate warm-up, muscular balance, core strength, a flexibility component, and is regularly performed, the risk of developing a lower back injury decreases substantially.  In addition to this, overall body awareness is equally important as often times injuries occur when we least expect it. 

Include a Proper Warm-up

The benefits of injecting a warm-up prior to engaging in vigorous exercise are numerous.  This preparatory exercise or movement helps protect against injury by improving the flexibility of the muscles.  Generally speaking, cold muscles have low blood flow to the area and are more susceptible to injury or damage than muscles at a higher temperature and blood saturation.  In general, the warm-up activity should last approximately 5-15 minutes with the focus on raising the total body temperature, as well as temperature of the muscles, to prepare the body for the activity that is about to follow.

Create Muscle Balance

All major muscle groups in the body work in pairs as agonist and antagonist to coordinate and produce movement.  Agonist muscles are primarily responsible for generating the movement, while antagonist muscles act in opposition to the movement generated by the agonist.  An example of the agonist/antagonist muscle pair would be the rectus abdominus and erector spinae muscle group.  When designing a weight lifting routine it is critical to balance these muscle pairs to avoid over development of one group compared to the other.  Asymmetry can lead to muscle compensation and increase the risk of developing lower back injuries. 

Build a Strong Core

There is an abundance of research to support the incorporation of a core specific program into a regular training regime in order to prevent lower back injuries.  The core musculature can be defined as the 29 pairs of muscles that support the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex in order to stabilize the spine, pelvis and kinetic chain during functional movements (Faries, 2007).  These muscles have further been classified as global and local spinal stabilizers.  Global stabilizers are responsible for generating movement while the local stabilizers provide intersegmental stability.  The local stabilizers include muscles with intervertebral attachments and are of primary concern when designing a core strengthening program.  These muscles include; the multifidus, transverses abdominis, and internal obliques.

Exercises specifically designed to challenge and activate the local stabilizers as well as the spinal extensors (erector spinae) are critical in preventing episodes of lower back pain.  To incorporate core exercises into a training program remember to optimize the function of the local system before emphasizing movements that utilize the global system.  When implementing a core program, be mindful of the functional progression of the exercises to ensure optimal results.

Incorporate a Flexibility Program

Augmenting strength and conditioning programs with a flexibility program is an important step in preventing lower back injuries.  Since all muscles are shortened with exercise, it is advantageous to return the muscle to the lengthened state upon completion of the exercise.  In addition, chronically contracted muscles can cause an imbalance from front to back or from side to side.  Choose stretches for all the major muscle groups and hold them for 20-30 seconds.

Body Awareness

Overall consciously being aware of the lower back and potential for injury during our daily activities will help reduce the occurrence.  Taking the time to lift objects with the legs for example and not with the back and keeping the item close to the body is key.  If sitting for prolonged periods is required for work, inject micro standing breaks to alleviate the stress on the back.  Sleeping position is another area that needs close attention.  Since we spend anywhere from 6-8 hours a night lying in bed, it is important that the position favours the lower back.  The ideal sleeping position is lying on your back with a pillow under the knees.

Stay Active

Maintaining a regular fitness regime will help in the prevention of lower back injuries.  As exercise will strengthen and balance the muscles that assist in maintaining upright posture, performing them regularly is essential.  Complimenting this regular program with a flexibility component and core strength will not only enhance conditioning but will decrease the risk of developing injury.

Teresa Gillard for Shave Magazine

Chapter 1.
I walk down a street and there’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. It takes forever to get out. It’s my fault.

Chapter 2.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It still takes a long time to get out. It’s not my fault.

Chapter 3.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It’s becoming a habit. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4.
I walk down the same street and see the deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5.
I walk down a different street.

Author Unknown

lovethislife…

 

is about celebrating the moment

and that we’re not guaranteed or owed

another day

and how cool it is that what we hide

can actually be the fuel towards our glory

and that it’s not so bad being proven wrong

 

lovethislife…

 

is about welcoming the blind turn

and the possibility

that there’s no such thing as coincidence

and that empathy is incredibly sexy

and that it’s never too late

to pick up a guitar or a paintbrush

or to make an amend

or to make a new friend

 

lovethislife…

 

could be about rekindling a past flame

or igniting a new one

or shapeshifting from a dreamer into a doer

or savouring the caress of a love long gone

 

lovethislife…

 

means whatever it is you want it to mean

because

 

lovethislife…

 

is a celebration of you and your path

 

lovethislife…

 

‘cuz it could go at any second

you rock.

 

copyright 2002, david culiner

lovethislife.