November 2010

The Amber Moon Studio universe is expanding!!!

I’ve already introduced Hjalmar Perez, massage therapist, certified personal trainer, and lifestyle wellness coach.  This newsletter I’d like to introduce Amanda Fearheiley, RD/LD (registered & licensed dietitian), and certified personal trainer.  I first met Amanda at a health fair at the Northwest YMCA about 4 years ago.  I was really struggling with my food allergies (gluten, soy & lactose to name a few), and was trying to become a triathlete.  I knew I needed help… and ta-DA! Here she was.  Over my 19 years of working in fitness, I’ve known several RDs, and Amanda is by far the most practical.  She works with you so any food intake changes are practical for the way you live.  Amber Moon Studio is offering a special on sessions with her through the end of the year… see Specials below for more details!  Amanda is coming in initially as our Dietitian, and will begin moving into more personal training & pilates as we continue to expand.

“Hello Amber Moon Studio Fans!

I am excited to begin working with each and every one of you.  My passion and interest in nutrition stems back to when I started competing in athletics.  I realized that there was a strong link between what I ate and my performance. I would like to apply this link to your life. If I could take the word “diet” out of dietitian I would! I believe that life should include the enjoyment of food and food can be tailored to optimally fuel our bodies. That being said, I will never restrict any of your favorite foods. I promote feeding both the body and spirit for your personal goals. Whether you are wanting to decrease certain disease symptoms, improve your energy, or enhance your performance, I am here to help. I am confident that I can individually fit your nutrition needs with my well-rounded experience spanning from critical care nutrition/ medical nutrition therapy to wellness nutrition and personal training. In short, using the wise words of Hippocrates: Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!” – Amanda

All about the feet

This month, Amber Moon Studio is taking a look at the feet, your physical ones as well as the figurative ones: the feet symbolize grounding, a base, travel.  The feet themselves are fascinating – did you know there are 28 bones in each foot, comprising 33 joints? We have 2 arches in the feet – and when the transverse one falls (goes under the ball of your foot), the toes hurt. When the longitudinal one falls (your “arch”), there can be a cascade effect all the way to your spine.  For this reason, we all need to take care of our feet.  Several things we can do to help the feet stay healthy:

Work the intrinsic foot muscles. Yep, we have muscles in our feet as well.  For those of you on Facebook, I’ll be posting a video or 2 on specific exercises for strengthening these very small muscles. Until then… try: 1) scrunching your toes on a towel, this should result in bringing the towel toward you slowly; 2) curl just the toes under, and then pull your toes up and spread them as wide as you can – all while keeping your ankle flexed (pulling top of foot toward your shin); 3) lift your arch – put a little weight on the feet, then slowly bring the big toe in toward the heel – its a very small movement. Try to keep the ball of the foot & heel on the ground! 4) Draw the alphabet with your toes, trying to keep the movements as big as possible – move the ankles, the arch, and the toes. Get creative!

Check on the toe nails & skin on the bottom of the feet. Your massage therapist will really appreciate you for this!  A lot of time we leave our feet in shoes all day – they need a chance to breathe.  On the flip side, some people run around barefoot or in flipflops. Think about what that does for your feet – exposure to the elements, contact with varying surfaces, no structural support (though many people have good foot structure, some need help. Like me!)  Try to take a few moments each day to pamper those feet – remember, they hurt, it goes up the rest of the body.

Give your feet a massage (or let us!).  Your feet represent your body, and working on specific areas of thefeet can help alleviate tension in the corresponding areas of the body. For examples, the ends of your toes represent the top of your head.  Have a headache? Try rubbing the ends of all your toes.

Also, take a figurative look at your feet. They represent your grounding,

your connection to the physical world. They give you a base from which to move.  We have our physical feet, we also have our energetic feet.  Ever feel like you just can’t get grounded, or that you’ve had your feet swept our from under you?  That’s part of the energetic feet. Everyone grounds themselves differently, but standing in grass/dirt might be a help. Get those shoes off, and feel the connect. Feel with your feet. Wiggle your toes!

Amanda has also come up with some foundational info (grounding) for you -

The Foundation (Feet) of your Diet: Carbohydrates!

The Basics

Carbohydrates offer an immediate source of energy for your body. They provide the fuel for your muscles and organs, such as your brain.

The role of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide all the cells of the body with the energy they need for everyday tasks and physical activity.

Amount of carbohydrate to consume

If the foods you eat contain too many carbohydrates, the following occurs:

· Carbohydrates are stored in the liver and muscle cells, and are used when the body needs an extra burst of energy

· Anything leftover that is not stored in liver and muscle cells is turned into fat

If you don’t take in an ample supply of carbohydrates, the following can occur:

· Fatigue

· Muscle cramps

· Poor mental function

Fatigue easily results from deprivation of carbohydrates, which is seen in persons who fast, possibly interfering with activities of daily living.

Carbohydrates are your body’s first choice for fuel. If given a choice of several types of foods simultaneously, your body will use the energy from carbohydrates first.

Make sure you eat moderate amounts of carbohydrates to keep your body fueled properly—50%-55% of calories should come from carbohydrates.

Foods containing carbohydrates

Choose the following foods containing carbohydrates (the best ones to eat):

· Fruit, raw or canned in its own juice

· Whole grains (whole-wheat breads, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain cereals, and other starchy foods containing a minimum of 3 grams (g) fiber/100 calories)

· Lean dairy foods such as yogurt and milk

To learn more about foods that supply a good source of carbohydrate or meal planning ideas, please contact Amanda Fearheiley,  RD/LD, cPT

From the other Realms of the Galaxy

Feet and Self Love: Conformity of “Perfection”; Costs Self Love, Self Expression and Ultimate Happiness

Did you know: The Chinese Art of Foot Binding is a 1000 year old practice that was highly revered in its day because tiny feet were a symbol of grace and beauty. Foot binding started in the 10th century and it continued to be practiced into the 20th century.  It started in the Wealthy class and through the ages worked its way into the peasant class. If you had big feet as a women then it was said you were supposed to do mans work and many men shunned women with big feet so women worked at binding their feet so they could marry. The concept of tiny delicate feet was highly sought after in China (They even had distinctions of what best feet looked like: a three inch foot was known as a ‘golden lotus’ and became the most highly prized, the three and a half inch to 4 inch foot was a ‘silver lotus’, better than no binding, but second class.

Foot-binding, is the deformation of a woman’s foot by breaking and folding the four smaller toes down and pressing them against the soles of foot, essentially bowing the arch of the foot, and then binding it all tightly together from toes to ankle with strips of cloth. The goal of this binding was to stop growth and have 3 to 4inch feet. This procedure would result with horrible discomfort and intense deformity of the feet. It resulted in leaving the women with the unstable ability to walk which is called the Lotus Gait. They were essentially cripples (Levy, 1992).  It is estimated that about 4.5 billion Chinese women were subjected to this ritual.

When we read these things we think that these are so barbaric, cruel and outrageous because they seem so strange in this day and age. Like how could a 3-inch cripple foot be beautiful?  However before we smirk in that direction, we might need to look at where our society is and where we are headed.

We don’t need barbaric traditions, when we have technology. Yay Technology! We can take a pill to be the perfect or have the perfect: weight, body feature, lover, beauty queen, gentlemen, happiness, sleep, energy, healthiest, fittest, etc.

If we can’t take a pill yet, we can get surgery to fix any imperfections. Our craving for “looking good” has not changed throughout the years. The only thing that is different is our methods.  We are still caught up in “binding” changing what we are; to be what we think we should be.

It begins with parents, peers, schools, society, etc. Then we do so much binding, re-arranging and changing to fit “that” picture, we begin to forget who we are and wonder why we are not happy.

So I ask you where in your life are you binding yourself/hiding who you are to fit in. Is that serving you? What would freedom look like?

Where in your life, is there an opportunity for more self-expression?

Louise L. Hay, the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, says whatever problems you are facing in life, the place to start is with yourself; begin with self-acceptance and work to eliminate self-criticism.

“When we really love ourselves, everything in our life works”

And of course when we really love ourselves then there is no need for “binding” hiding our true selves to be someone else. Self Love and Acceptance is ground that is most powerful place to stand for a truly fulfilled life.  You are the only you! Love it! Live it! You are a Gift!

For more information, or to schedule a Life Coaching session with Suzyn Barrientos, please email her.

Everything under the Moon