Gentle Reader,
My daughter, Priscilla, the personal trainer extraordinaire (www.hardcoremotheroffour.blogspot.com) mentioned a Pilates move when we were talking after Thanksgiving dinner. For the first time, I thought she could probably help me with my chronic back issues. Funny how your children can be experts to so many and take a long time to claim that status for their mother.
Tuesday I spent an hour with her in the Fitness Lab and came home excited with new exercises that will strengthen my abdominal region (and probably get rid of the little belly fat that sits there) and not hurt my back in the process. She did some fine tuning and now I’ve got new interest in my morning routine. I will share my new routine next week.
Yesterday, Wednesday, as I often do, I went hiking with friends in the nearby mountains we fondly call the Issaquah Alps. Tiger is one wild place only a few minutes from the city. We chose a meander that took us 7 miles up and around, past some “caves” (old mining area) and around a shallow lake. 
When we got back to the car, I started feeling my pockets for the keys. Nothing. Turns out they had fallen out when I reached in to put the parking permit on the mirror. It took AAA 2 ½ hours to get there to open the door for me and my cell phone was dead. Talk about stress. It got pretty cold toward sun set. I tell you all this because of what I did to keep from dissolving into a puddle of stress. (My hiking friends were reluctant to leave me, but I shooed them away to their own tasks. There were plenty of other hikers returning to their cars in this very popular hiking area so there was no danger.)
I did Priscilla’s new exercises. Brilliant. And a super slow walking meditation. And a sitting meditation. And built an elegant rock chairn. And ate my left over cookies from lunch. And watched it get dark while I did some more exercises. All in all, it was a pleasant time spent in my own head with no electronics, nothing to read, no pen and paper for writing practice. A dream-time.
When the tow truck finally got there and let me drive away, I headed for the nearest Tully’s (i.e. Starbucks) and ordered an eggnog latte. Hot soup and the hot tub awaited me at home.
Today, no lower back pain. No arthritis in my bad joints. No spinal stenosis acting up. Life is good.
A friend just sent this wonderful video in his blog. I commend it to you. William is a healer. http://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/
Now, take a minute to tell me about a stressful situation you had recently, what it did to your body and how you handled it. We can learn from each other. My readers love comments, so feel free.
Fondly, Betsy
Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving
BetsyBell’s Health4u
206 933 1889 1 888 283 2077
betsy@hihohealth.com
Love this. Love hearing about how you passed the time in meditation and creative stone building. I’m looking forward to hearing more specifics about the exercises. My back has been good for a while now, but I don’t push it at all. I’m feeling the need to be more “in my body” these days and exercise is calling to me! Bring it on, Betsy!! Thanks ahead of time to your amazing daughter — I checked out her blog. She is a force!