For Lynn and Cara

I was texting Lynn today.

She's sick.

I was sick yesterday. My body was wrapped in ache. Everything hurt and all I could do was sleep, which is exactly what I did most of the day.

Don't you agree that there are weeks where you feel unstoppable? Your body feels good. Your mind is good. You feel like you could fly.You are woman!

Then  there are weeks where you feel like the sludge on an Iowa pond in the middle of summer. Greenish. Grody. Still. You can't move. You feel like you have to plop your backside into a wheel barrow just to move.

Sludge. Sloth. Slow.

Exercise can sometime kick the sludge right out of you.

Sometimes.

Sometimes there is more going on and your body is screaming at you to stop, rest, put on your jammies, your fuzzy socks, and have someone take care of you.

I don't know the magic formula to know when exercise will kick out the sludge or add to it.

I believe your body will tell you. It's an amazing thing.

This week when I was struggling with the sloth I got up and tried to move, I started slow, and listened to my body to see what it was telling me. This week it told me that I was tired, that something was cooking and it wasn't going to be good. But there has been other times when a little bit of movement clued me into the fact that more movement is exactly what I needed to do.

Movement is always good. It doesn't have to be intense or kick-butt, it just has to be movement.

Here are some of my favorite moves. They are my "how am I feeling"  moves. They are simple but they wake up my body, get the blood flowing and help me gauge where I'm at.

Lynn and Cara - try this. See what you think. Talk to me.

1. Reach and bend. Inhale up. Exhale down.

2.  Standing Cow Pose. Click on the link to get the entire move. This is such a great move to warm up the lower back. Hollow out your back with your hands on your knees and then suck up your tummy and arch your back like a cat. Repeat this back and forth movement 10-15 times. Exhale when you hollow your back and push out your tummy, inhale when you suck up your tummy and arch your back.

3. Torso Twist. This is simple. Just twist from side to side. I start with my hands on my head and do smaller movements, then I move my hands to my chest, and then to my side, making the movements bigger. Keep twisting and work you hands up and down several times. Move your feet if you want. Smile. Pretend you're 17, dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah. Move, breathe, and enjoy.

4. Easy knee lift. Nice and slow. Warm up your quadriceps and get your heart pumping a little. You can keep your arms down by your sides or you can lift both hands above your head, bringing them down to meet your raised knee. Knee goes down, arms go up.  You decide.

5. Standing back leg lift. This you can do with or without support. Grab onto a chair or your dresser if you feel like you are going to fall over. I stretch my arms up and out while I do this. I usually do 10-15 lifts on one side and then switch sides.

There you have it. Add in some arm swings in a big figure eight, some shoulder rolls forward and back,  another set of reach and bend. Simply move for 10-15 minutes. Make up your own move. There is no wrong way. Just move before you step out for the day and see what your body tells you.

Okay, now a recipe.

Lynn and Cara, this is good, this is really good. 

Beef Noodle Stir Fry

This is from one of my favorite food sites. Damn Delicious.  She posts great recipes that are quick and well, darn delicious. Plus I feel a bit naughty when I'm on her site - she said a bad word!

For this recipe I usually use ground pork or beef instead of the sirloin. I throw in whatever veggies I have and I usually use rice noodles. The kids love it and it really is quick.

Okay ladies. That's all I've got.

Lynn - feel better.

Cara - keep at it girl. You can do this. You. Are. Rocking. It.

Rock on.