Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Milestones and Foam Rollers and LaCrosse Balls...oh my!

This week we are back at our routine...me and Tasmanian Devil Girl.  Truthfully, she's more tired and sore than me, probably because she skipped out on one too many classes during the holidays and I didn't.  I've jumped back in full throttle with my Paleo eating...I sort of derailed myself during the holidays.  I also hit a major milestone this week, six whole months without a Dr. Pepper.  Now that's something I thought I'd never say!  I do have a confession to make, I've been cheating on my acupuncturist with the chiropractor.  I have to say that both are great for repairing all the damage I do to my neck and shoulder sitting at a desk all day...yes I said it...sitting at a desk all day.  As rough and tumble as Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu are, sitting at a desk all day not moving is way more damaging to your body.  So, this new chiropractor is giving me tons and tons of good stretching exercises to do.  It's all great stuff, who knew the things you could do with a foam roller and a LaCrosse ball.  My neck and shoulders are going to feel like a million bucks folks, and if you thought they were flexible before, look out!  I'm looking forward to training tonight and then we are going to start a new jiu jitsu conditioning class after our regular class.  Working on the re-creation of Mrs. Ibarra begins....NOW!  :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Nothing to Lose...Everything to Gain

Sometimes I struggle with all the changes I've made in the last three years.  It can be overwhelming, the path to transformation.  I'm not saying I would ever go back, I can never go back, that girl doesn't exist anymore.  But, she's a part of who I am, a part of what helped me make it this far.  So, what do you gain by losing?  I know, I stole it from a TV commercial, but I really like it.  For me it was freedom.  As the pounds came off and the body started doing what it was designed to do I became FREE!  Free from the bondage of an overweight, out of shape, old lady body.  I have days where I regress into that cocoon of the old lady body, hibernate in my bed, become lazy, but what I've gained from training jiu jitsu is a desire to be the best Mrs. Ibarra I can be.  A desire to see just how far I can push this old body.  I've discovered that we don't give ourselves enough credit.  Our bodies or our minds.  We are capable of so much more.  I feel like I am living, breathing proof of that.  Just three years ago I was a slave to pain medication and invasive medical procedures for chronic neck pain.  I couldn't have imagined in my wildest of dreams that I would be doing what I am doing now.  I didn't think that I could ever train jiu jitsu.  When I first began I thought that I would make it a few months and my neck would say no more.  Then something miraculous happened, my neck didn't stop me from training.  I had tons of aches and pains, tons and tons of aches and pains, but my neck never stopped me from training.  So I kept training.  I stopped all pain medication.  I haven't had an invasive procedure on my neck in over three years!  Sweet!!  I didn't give my body the credit it deserved.  It was capable of so much more than I ever thought.  I discovered acupuncture along the way and if you're interested, I've got a great guy!  Acupuncture gets me through the tough times, with my shoulders and knees and for those times when I'm super stressed.  So, give your bodies and your minds a little bit of credit, they are a lot stronger than you think.  Don't count yourself out before you even start.  Take that first step, that big giant leap of faith.  I promise, you won't be sorry.  I know I'm not.  This strength that I discovered, it was inside of me all along.  Jiu jitsu just helped me bring it to the surface.  :)