Gnarly Nuggets and Ropey Knots!

Hello all you hard working bodies!

It is summer again and my massage practice is in full swing keeping me busy and sadly away from the blog. I am booked up with farmers, gardeners and other outdoor workers who are suffering from a variety of repetitive stress injuries and general fatigue looking for some relief. If only I could type and massage at the same time... hummmm... Anyway, all that work has inspired today's post!

 I have found that every single one of my clients has been complaining about "knots". Knots in the shoulders, knots in the low back, knots in the calves and even knots in the jaw.  But, what are these knots? What has the muscles all tied up? I have carved out some time to post so I can give you my opinion (that's right only an opinion, the science surrounding muscle knots is still variable and there is even some controversy about what they are and how to treat them). Without further ado, some awesome info on what it is tying your muscles up when you say you have a knot!


The Gnarly Nugget

Some of your muscles may sound like they are MADE of this!

When folks talk about having a "knot" they usually reach up and give the top of their shoulder a squeeze. Feeling for that painful spot that when you put direct pressure on it you hear and feel a 'crunch'.

There are a few different theories as to what these little packing peanuts are, here is the one that seems the most plausible to me: When muscles work they have to move around and over each-other all the while using up fuel (glycogen and oxygen) and producing waste (carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and acid phosphate).

This waste can irritate the muscle fibers and also dehydrate the fascia. So, all this action in the tight space between muscles makes the fibers super bummed(I mean, gosh, I would be!) and they start to get gummed up. That spot where there is so much friction and waste build up causes a small mass of solidified acid and facial adhesion. Voila! A crunchy little knot.

The Tight Rope

What's going on in your tissues is a lot less scary that this!

Often times when I am working on a client my hands will 'bump' over a section of muscle that feels like a rope. Or if they are super bound up like a hunk of of rebar... There is defiantly a debate over whether or not a 'tight' muscle means anything for the overall musculature. I have even read a few studies that say the pain felt in the trapizius can often be coming from the softer parts of the muscle.

What I know is this: If a muscle is holding a contraction when it should be at rest that's an issue.  I like to think of the fibers of the muscles like a hand. An open and relaxed hand is like a muscle at rest and a closed fist is like a muscle contracting.  When a muscle is half contracted (called hypertonic tissue) it's like a hand making a claw shape. It can't quite let go and it can't contract properly either. So, it stays tight sore and forms a rope-like knot.



The Spaz Attack

I just couldn't help myself...hehe

This is the type of "knot" that when a client walks in my treatment room and describes it I have to tell them to take it seriously and rest up. When a muscle becomes tight or knotted up all of a sudden and feels like it is grabbing and gripping it is most likely a spasm.

WebMD defines a spasm as "the involuntary contraction of one ore more muscles." This can happen for a few different reasons: dehydration, lack of electrolytes or hyper extension to name a few. The reason I see most in my office as the cause of this nasty knot is over use and not enough rest to refuel the fibers.

When the muscles are working, contracting and letting go, they use up a lot of fuel. And as they get down to the last resources they start to fatigue. Have ever been doing push ups and you get to the moment where your arms are shaking? That is the fatigue point, your muscles just don't have the resources to keep doing their job any more! So, one safety response from the brain is to send the "Nobody move!" signal to the over worked muscle set. They go on lock-down becoming hard and painful knots.

The more you knooooow
I know what you are thinking, "Great, now I know why my muscles feel like crap. What can I do about it?" There are plenty of ways to avoid  these gnarly knots in your day-to-day work.  And, of course, ways to treat them when you feel that painful little(or big) pull. But, for that info you will have to stay tuned! The next post will be all about keeping your working body as knot free as possible. With tips on how to get rid of and recover from these three types of knots. Leaving you with a cliff hanger is sure to make me post super soon, even if I have to work on knots with one hand and type with the other.
Just kidding!

Thanks for reading and happy summertime to you all!

~Lydia

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year! I cannot believe that 2013 is over and as I look back at the past year, I am amazed.

The news worthy arnica balm!

The Flexible Farmer has seen some serious growth this year. Some of the milestones I am proud of include: moving offices, being hired by NEC to teach more workshops and teaming up with Thyme Herbal to create healing products. The thing I am most proud of and grateful for is all of my incredible massage clients. I am also hoping to make this blog more of a priority in the year to come. To help make that happen I have big news...

I have hired an associate! Marly Shaffer will be joining the T.F.F Team!!!! Marly is an amazing licensed massage therapist who is just as knowledgeable and attuned to anatomy as I am. When I need a massage, I see her. She will be at the Hadley office on Thursday afternoons. Yay!

Yay! 

Lastly, don't forget that over that theflexiblefarmer.com you can find out about more of the programs I offer. There are also many unique and healing products that are helping make T.F.F into a real healing center! Like my Sore Foot Soak, the newsworthy Arnica Balm and tinctures from Thyme Herbal. All of these are for sale in my office and on my website and remember: shipping is always free!

Again, thank you so much for helping to make this year such a success for me. Keep checking back for more info-packed blog posts to come! I am honored to help keep your working body working well.

Hydrate! It's a scorch-a out there!

Wholly Summer time! Has it truly been since April that I last posted? Goodness, I really have gone fishing with the last few months. Not to be all excuses but... I did get married. It was a great celebration and I am very happy to be a newly wed!  Let me tell you though, I am so glad to be back to "real life".  And that real life includes keeping up with the ol' blog. So without further ado.....

It has been a very hot July thus far here in the Pioneer Vally. That means that I have been increasingly ending my phone conversations with clients by saying, "Don't forget to drink some water today!" Hydration folks! Lets have a quick chat about water and all the glorious ways it takes care of our working bodies.

Water, water everywhere
Every cell in your body needs water to function and keep everything working properly and efficiently. From your muscle fibers to your brain to your bones, water plays many roles in the body. Water keeps your muscles and joints lubricated so that they can work without friction. Friction can lead to knots and tearing in both structures. Water helps the brain to function, keeping you focused and on task. Water gets rid of the waste that your muscles produce when you work; as a result, you are less likely to feel sore later. Water even helps to regulate body temperature, one reason hydration is so important on hot, hot days. Every part of your body needs and uses water at all times. This also means your are losing water all the time, even breathing causes you to lose water!  So, now we get to the all-important question, "How much water should I be drinking?'

Its all about remembering

My spigot mug

I like the old stand by of 8 glasses of water a day, or the even older stand by of "keep your pee pale." For most people, it's really a game of remembering to drink water. For such an essential part of what your body needs, it can truly be hard to keep up on keeping hydrated. Here are some of my favorite tricks...
Water with meals. Your body is great at reminding you to eat; make this a double reminder and you will be getting water at least 3 times a day.
Before you pee. If you gotta go, glug down some water first!
Water bottles or mugs at your spigots. Most farmers I know have to visit the water spigot a few times
a day.  Recently a client of mine told me he ties a plastic water bottle to the spigot so when he is filling up a bucket he remembers to drink some water. I have been leaving an old coffee mug near ours!
Make it tasty! If you can't seem to get pumped about plain old water, add a slice of lemon, lime or cucumber.

So, what if your day is long and frenzied and you haven't had a drop?

Egads! I do believe I am dehydrated!
Here are some symptoms of dehydration, according to the Mayo Clinic:

• Dry, sticky mouth
• Sleepiness or tiredness
• Thirst
• Decreased urine output
• Headache
• Constipation
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

As with most things I talk about, prevention is the key. You don't want to get to the point where your body is freaking out because you are low on water. You want to keep up with hydration so that nothing in your body has to go dry and risk damage. But, is plain old water enough? Not necessarily...

Electro-whats?
Now that you have some ideas about staying good and hydrated lets talk for a sec about electrolytes. Basically, these are minerals(salts) that help to keep everything balanced on a cellular level.  Electrolytes keep the right amount of fluid inside and outside cells and conduct the electrical pulses between them. When you have enough electrolytes in your body, it is easier to stay hydrated and you are less likely to suffer from cramps and heat stroke. You lose them when you sweat, so it is extra important to stay on top of on hot days. I'm not a huge fan of sports drinks since they have a ton of sugar and other garbage so, here is a recipe for what we called "Whomp" at my first farm job.  It is simple and will provide your body with a great source of electrolytes.

In a gallon of water stir:
2 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar + 2 tbsp Maple Syrup+ 2 tsp Baking Soda+ 2 tsp Sea Salt
(you can mess with this to your liking or look up other homemade mixes, there are tons out there!)

WHOMP!

Ok, I feel better about all you out there sweating and working in the hot sun. I will most likely keep telling folks to drink water whenever I can and maybe even direct them to this post.  As always feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas about posts you would like to read. All the best and happy hydrating!!
~Lydia

Thawing out! 3 moves for a great warm up

Hello to all of you getting back in the field! Even though it was freezing here this morning I am still confident that Spring is here. The thaw has come, the daffodils are up and the first green things have made their brave appearance over the mulch.  It is time to warm up, get moving and start this growing season off right.  That brings us to todays post, thawing out!

I have mentioned in previous posts about the importance of warming up to get your body ready to work and today I will give you the 3 moves that make a great warm up for the working body. For a refresher on why warming up is important check out "Nine ways to be nice to your Knees!" It's number one.

Before you start these warm-ups find level ground to stand on and remember to only use the things I describe as a guide for your body, if something feels painful stop.  Annnnnd you may want to find a place none of the crew can see you. These warm ups are dynamic and a great way to get the blood flowing but...may look a little silly. Personally I like to do warm ups in public places because then I can tell people all about what I am doing and why!


Warm-up move #1) Running in place without the running

Some readers asked for diagrams so... I  drew these for you!

I am a big fan of running in place and the old jumping jack. But, when it comes right down to it this can be hard on your knees and ankels. So this warm-up will get your blood flowing and your heart rate up without pounding on your knees. It does require good balance so, if this is a concern for you, put your
back to a wall or fence post or truck. Do one on each side slow and see how it suits you before going all out.

Start with your feet hip width apart. Reach your right hand straight into the air. Keeping your back straight bring your opposite knee up and at the same time bring your elbow down to touch it across your body. If your hips are tight and they don't touch that is ok, just make sure you don't curl over your upper back to try and make it. Bring your arm back up and your foot back down and then after a second(literally one second) do it over again. Do 8 on one side 8 on the other!




Warm-up move #2) The twisty lunge!

Lunges are a great way to warm up your legs and core. A lot of warm-ups start this way because getting once the muscles in the back of the legs "wake up" it is easier to access their power potential.  By adding a gentle twist to the spine you warm up your low back as well.

Start with your feet hip width apart. Step one foot back behind you as far as is comfortable, keeping a slight bend in the knee. With your front leg bend your knee deeply. You will feel the stretch in your calf and in your quad. Now place your hands on your bent leg and twist gently from lower in your back in that direction. Keep your shoulders down and hips level. Take a deep breath, hold for 30 seconds and then come back to center slowly. Repeat on the other side!




Warm-up move #3) The chicken stretch

I feel like every time I have taken a second to watch chickens one of them will get into a super satisfying looking stretch. These two stretches done together remind me of that! They are a great way

warm-up the upper back, chest and arms.

Interlace your fingers in front of you. Drop your chin to your chest and turning your palms out, push your arms away from you and far as is comfortable for your elbows. Hold for 30 seconds then bring your arms back and slowly lift your head up. Now, clasp your arms behind you and keeping your head level and shoulder blades down pull back. Hold for 30 and then shake your arms out.


There you go! Now that you are all warm your body can work more efficiently and effectively. As always, if you have any questions or ideas shoot me an email flexiblefarmer@gmail.com.  Until next time!

Working through the stress of Spring

A (completely non-stress inducing) sign of spring

              We are having one more winter blast here in Western MA. I have been dreaming of nothing but spring for the past two weeks and it seems like it is the same for my clients.  But, where I am having lazy thoughts of planting a flower box and hiking without a mountain of layers on, my clients are worrying about seedlings and hoop houses that where destroyed in the snow.  Other folks feel the weight of the winter lift as the snow melts, most farmers (and a majority of my farmy type clients) are gearing up for the stress-fest that is the start of the season.

 I have been told about an array of ways that stress is affecting my clients bodies. From small things like tighter feeling shoulders to the more frightening like early morning dry heaves.  Stress has real effects on your physical wellbeing and it can take a tole on you.  The flight or fight response is built to adjust what is happening inside your body so you don't say, get mauled by a wildebeest.  Your adrenaline goes up, your muscles tense, your blood vessels constrict and you can run from the wildebeest. But, if the wildebeest is really the fact that you are 3 days behind on your planting schedule and the order of plastic to patch a whole in the hoop house hasn't come in and you are worried its going to rain...your body remains in this state that was only ment to be for short bursts.  And so we come to the topic of todays post, how to beat that stress and not let it take over your body. Lets walk through a few ways you can calm yourself down when you say, walk out the door and find a crisis. (If you are looking for more every day changes to make look to previous posts for stretches and exercises.)

You wake up and the sun is just barley lighting your path. The list of things you need to do is tremendous and how you are going to make it through yet another spring is beyond you. You come to the barn to find a crisis, something broken, frozen or dead. Your whole body stiffens and you are about to......

Ok, first off lets talk about breathing, I know we have been over this one in past posts but it bears repeating. When you take a deep breath, and I mean a deep breath where your belly expands and your ribs part, you are pulling your diaphragm down.  This action is amazing, not only because a good inhale can seem to take forever but, also because it tricks you into calming down weather you realize it our not.  Heres why, your diaphragm is a "smooth muscle" this means it is a muscle that contracts and stretches subconsciously.  Smooth muscle, like your heart and your intestines, will work without you telling them too and in fact if your tried to think them into stopping they wouldn't.  Though these muscles work on there own they still need some guidance from the nervous system as to what is going on in the world of you so, they have a direct link and will respond to weather you are in fight or flight or in rest and digest. Your diaphragm is linked up to your central nervous system in the same way but, you can controle it. So, when you take that deep breath you are essentially overriding a small part of your CN. Telling it to switch from "Oh crap, a wildebeest!" to "What a lovely nap I am taking" and thus you calm yourself down on a deep neurological level.

Now, you are calmed down and you dont feel like you are going to explode all over the flats waiting to be seeded. It's time to boost your endorphins and burn off the cortizol that bubbled up.  The best way to do this is through some physical exertion. You've heard of the "runners high"? Well what that is is when the flood of endorphins that are released by exercise reaches a critical mass and it makes you feel extra euphoric and...well...high.  You don't have to run a marathon to get a little bit of extra endorphins, just moving about whatever task is at hand with a quickness or dropping down to do a few push-ups will do the trick. Keep your breath even and deep and get your blood flowing and you'll burn off the stress hormone cortizol and release a few extra endorphins that will help to pick your mood up.

The mighty beast of stress

Ok, does that crisis look so dire now? It might but, at least you are in a place that you can deal with it. And that brings up to the last tip, organizing your thoughts and dealing with the problem at hand.  This may sound like the most fru-fru of the tips so far but, hear me out. You have brought your central nervous system out of panic and gotten the good hormones flowing now you need to re-set your brain.  In a study on how stress effets rats one of the things sited was short term memory loss due to cortizol, the effect seemed to last until the rats where distracted. Managing your thoughts is a tool used by many who suffer from severe anxiety attacks and can really help to get your brain to stop sending "WIDEBEEST!" messages. So, organize your mental space into things you can do right now, things you can do later today and things that are beyond your control and you need to let go(oh, say that snow that is stating to come down). This way you give your brain a distraction and a way to cope with the stress all in one. And hey, if the things you can do list is super long remember you did this last year and you can do it again. Even better! Because this year you will know how to work though the stress of Spring.

I hope this helps you as we move into the 2013 growing season. As always feel free to contact me with questions at info@theflexiblefarmer.com or leave a comment here. 'Til next time, happy spring!




 

Winter body care!

The winter body-care workshop at NOFA

Hello out there to all my frosty farmer friends! As I sit down to write this post I can not believe it is the 24th of the month already. Not just of any month but the first month of the new year no less.  Wasn't I just  at the NOFA summer conference? No? That was months ago you say. Well, it must be true because as I look out my window all I see is snow.

As a matter of fact I just returned from the NOFA winter conferince where I presented a workshop on keeping your body strong through the winter. It is a fun workshop that I have presented before and it is very based in what the participants want to know.  The workshop centers around what tasks you find the most challenging when you start the season and how you can maintain the strength and/or flexibility you gain after you have done this task all summer long. One thing that was surprising about this group was that even though their farming background, ages and body types where drastically different than the folks in the same workshop that I presented for CISA a few months earlier the body issues where the same.  So, todays post I want to talk about the two things both groups came up with; keeping up their core strength through the winter and keeping the flexibility of a forward bend in their low backs and legs.

 Core strength is a big one and I feel like, for my body, it is the first thing to go if I am not out working. And it seems that this is true for a lot of farmers, not only did both groups think of and discuss core strength many folks struggle with it all season long. But, what exactly is your "core"?  The core of your body are the muscles that wrap around your mid-section like a cumber-bun(remember those?!) such as the abdominal  obliques and the muscles of the deep low back.  Taking it one step further your core also consists of the muscles that are deep within the workings of your body like the diaphragm   There are over 15 muscles involved in this group and they all work together to do tasks like lifting.

There where a few exercises that both groups came up with to keep their core muscles strong the first was intentional breathing. By taking a deep breath in and allowing your lungs to fill and your belly to expand you are pulling your diaphragm down. Then as you breathe out you tighten the muscles of your abs back to your spine, starting with the ones under your belly button and moving up to the ones under your ribs. This is a great way to gently ingage your core muscles as well as calm your central nervous system. The second exercise was more active. Starting on your hands and knees bring your back into a neutral position(not arched or sunken) bring one arm up and point it straight out like super man. Lower that arm back to the floor and then bring the opposite leg out behind you and strech it stright back, parallel to the floor.  Repeat this on the other side and then if you are feeling stable and would like more of a challenge bring up and stretch out the opposite leg and arm at the same time. The Mayo Clinic has a great description of this exercise with photos here. Both of these exercises can help to keep the core engaged enough through the winter that come spring your mid-body isn't so atrophied your poor back has to do all the work.

The other body issue that both groups have is that the back of the legs tighten up dramatically over the winter. For this both groups came up with stretches, as aposed to strengthening exercises, and they came up with a LOT of them! I have narrowed it down to the two that overlapped and remember to only stretch a warm muscle.  The first of the two is a modified lunge stretch that can very in the depth of the lunge.   Stand about 3 feet away from a wall, put both hands on the wall at shoulder hight and width. Then step one leg out behind you and put your heel down on the ground. Lean in toward the wall and push away to give the calf a great stretch, hod it for 45 seconds and then repeat on the other side.  The second was a seated stretch that lengthens the hamstrings.  Sit on the floor with your feet flexed flat(you can put your feet on a wall to help with this). Slowly lean forward from your hips with your back straight until you feel the stretch  Make sure not to round your back, hold for 30 seconds and come up slow.  This stretch directly mimics a the forward bend that so many in the workshops said was the hardest thing for them when the season started back up.

Both of these activities are simple and straight to the point. It seamed that one other thing both groups had in common was that they needed stretches and strengthening exercises that where simple enough that they where not time consuming and effective enough that they could feel good about doing them. All four of the activities above are both effective and straight forward. By just spending a few minutes each minutes in the morning or evening on keeping your body strong and flexible over the winter will make a world of difference when the season starts back up. I hope this helps you keep your working body strong through the rest of this cold cold winter!

Hello out there! 

A flexible farmer at the 2012 NOFA summer conference 

As you may have noticed I have been MIA for most of the month of August.  I have been very busy in the other two realms of my business: presenting body care and injury prevention workshops and being a massage therapist at my office in Hadley Massachusetts.  The biggest engagement this month was the NOFA Summer Conference in Amherst. Hundreds of farmers come for 3 days of workshops, vendors and networking. I had a blast at the conference and as a result of my chair massage booth I have been seeing more and more clients at my office.

Though this has caused me to miss quite a few Saturdays of posts, it has also been a great month of connecting with farmers and other trades people who had great questions, suggestions and stories about the physicality of their work.  Head over to my FaceBook page, http://www.facebook.com/theflexiblefarmer
for some great photos of my booth and some of the flexible farmers I met!

 In meeting, teaching and massaging farmers from all over New England I got to hear about the different aspects of farming that cause them to have aches and pains. This has given me lots of new ideas for what I can share with you so, I am glad to return to my blog.

The next few posts will be on a few areas of the body that I haven't covered such as, tips for the wrist, chest and the back of the legs.  I also will be posting on body care habits and helpful hints for different tasks on the farm like, how to make your morning on the tractor more bearable or what to do if it's hard on your knees to get up and down.  In this way I hope to address some of the common problems and mistakes that folks where asking about in my workshops.

If you have any ideas or questions you would like me to address in the up coming posts feel free to e-mail me at info@ theflexiblefarmer.com.
Hope your August was as great as mine and I look forward to a fall of wonderful posts!

NOFA Summer Conference!

Hi All!
I am going to be MIA this weekend due to the amazing NOFA Summer Conference! I am super excited to be a part of this event for the third year running.  I will have a booth in the exhibitors area selling chair massage, stickers, posters and more. I will also be presenting a workshop on body care and injury prevention for farmers. Bellow are the details of the event. Its going to be a blast!!

August 10-12, 2012

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Keynote Speakers

Chellie Pingree, Congresswoman from Maine

Jeffrey Smith, Institute for Responsible Technology

Over 200 Workshops on Organic Gardening, Farming, Food Politics, Permaculture, Homesteading, Landscaping, Alternative Energy, Livestock, Cooking, and more! Hundreds of Vendors and Exhibitors

Live Entertainment

Children’s and Teen Conference

Country Fair

Featuring a pre-conference seminar on GMOs with Jeffrey Smith, and a pre-conference seminar on Natural Fruit with Lee Reich. 

To register: www.nofasummerconference.org

Email: info@nofasummerconference.org

Call: 413-362-2143

Get ready...for Saturday Stretches and Aches and Answers!

Hey all you working bodies out there!
This is just a quick post to let you know about two up coming series this blog will be featuring. As of now I am a "occasional" poster at best (the face I am making now is the one I'm sure you have seen on whoever forgot to take out the compost or close in the chickens...). But not for a lack of passion for the subject, more for a lack of structure and abundance of more in-my-face things to do.  So, I am giving myself that structure and putting the Body Care Blog on the top of my list.

The first series will be Saturday Stretches.  Pretty self explanatory, but allow me to elaborate. Every Saturday I will focus on a new area of the working body that deserves a little love. Starting with the areas most common to cause problems and pain (knees, low back and shoulders) and working my way to muscles some folks don't even know they have (like the piriformis, that I have a serious love/hate relationship with). I will talk stretches, strength, injury prevention and body care specific to that spot.

The next series will be based on questions from farmers (or anyone else with a hardworking body!) that I'm calling Aches and Answers. Think Car Talk but for your body (and with less wise cracks and Boston accents). So, if you are working away on fixing a fence and a weird pang happens in your neck write me a quick email.  Feel free to send questions, anecdotes or even things you have discovered about your working body that may help others. Send it over to info@theflexiblefarmer.com and I will do my best to address your aches and pains.

That's all for now, check back in tomorrow for the first of the Saturday posts...Knees!

Spring Workshop Deals and Finally Getting on the Twitter Train

Hello out there!
In today's post I would like to let every body know about some deals I am offering this spring.  As we had an early March thaw with steady warmth, it seams that plowing for spring is full speed ahead.  With that comes hours on the tractor, seeding in the greenhouse quickened to finish and all the countless stresses and strains of the season come early. So, in honor of all the farmers who have to risen to the occasion this weird weather has presented, I would like to offer a discounted/abbreviated workshop.

This beginning of the season special will be a 30 minute version of the injury prevention and body mechanics workshop. I have been working on rehashing my basic workshop so that it covers all the basis of good body mechanics and how to avoid injury in a efficient and speedy way.  This way the workshop can take less time out of the workday and leave more time for questions and demos of stretching/strengthening exercises. I am calling this workshop "Strong Roots" and am setting a price of $75 not including chair massage.  Visit my website www.theflexiblefarmer.com for more details!


In other news I have joined the world of Twitter and was delighted to find plenty of like minded farmy folks to "follow".  I am hoping this will be a good way to get my name out into the world and to make some friends. I also hope to start posting a tip or two on body mechanics for working bodies daily, so if you are a tweeter follow me @FlexibleFarmer.

All the best,
Lydia

Quickly into spring

Hello out there!
I am back to the Blog after a few months off and I have some great updates. But first, let me say it has been a strange winter here in New England.  Little in the way of freezing days and even fewer days of snow fall. It leaves me wondering how the spring seedings and plantings will go and if we are in for a summer of rain.  I have been hearing the birds singing spring songs and the trees are budding.  It looks to me that this years growing season will start early.

That said, I have sent out my first piece of advertising to Vally farms so they can book a workshop for their new crews!  I have been lucky to have an amazing graphic designer, Seth Gregory, helping me and the final product was amazing. Visit my website to see it, go to the Media Gallery page.
www.theflexiblefarmer.com 

The next update is that I will be presenting at the Northeast regional meeting of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers in March.  This meeting will have a handful of workshops to for farmers who grow cut flowers. The topics range from; new tools just for their work, tractors, greenhouses, pest managent and injury prevention. I will be tailoring my Bodycare Workshop to the specific challenges that growing and harvesting flowers bring. I am so excited to be part of this meeting and also to be introduced to the folks that work so hard to make the bouquets that make our tables, parties and weddings beautiful!  

Last, but not least, I am working on an article on the importance of flexibility in overall health that I hope to get published.  I am looking at a verity of periodicals and magazines that are geared to the organic/small farmer.  If anyone has any ideas of publications that would be a good fit feel free to let me know!
All the best,
Lydia

Putting summer in jars

Fall is truly here. The mornings have become cold and crisp, the leaves are turning and every farm-stand in sight has put out some acorn squash along side the last of their summer fair. Over the last weeks of August and these first few weeks of September I have done the one thing that will keep summer with me all winter. Put up as many jars of tomatoes, pickles, jam and peaches I can muster. As my cabinet fills with the bright colors of this summers harvest I smile to know that peaches in my oatmeal in February will be so worth the steam burns and stiff hands.  The process of putting up food for the colder months is a task that requires lots of pealing, chopping and packing.  All of these fine movements are powered by the wrists and the stress can end up in the hands.  So today's post will be all about wrist and hand care and ways to keep them from cracking, popping and aching.

When all said and done the thing that will help you prevent inflammation and aching in your hands and wrists is to warm them up. If you are out harvesting the produce you're about to process then your hands may be warmed up already. Even so, there are 27 joints in each hand that should get a some fluid into them before you begin your chopping marathon.
Start with the fingers. Touch the tip of each finger to the tip of your thumb one at a time then reverse it. Do this just 3 times to increase the fluid in each joint and to get the ligaments ready for work. Another good warm up for your fingers and hands is to press the tips of each finger on one hand to its corresponding finger on the other hand and gently push them together. Alternate this stretch with making a tight fist. By alternating this stretch with the contraction you open up the ligaments and muscle fibers then fill them with fresh blood.  This gives your hands lots of fuel for the receptive motions in canning. When you make the fist your forearm will also contract and this will wake up your wrist.  Follow this with a set of gentle wrist rolls to open up the 3 carpal joints, make sure you do them to both sides!  Next, stretch out your wrist by pushing your hands flat away from you trying to point your fingers as straight up as you can. Then point your fingers down at the ground, alternate up and down a few times. End your warm up with a shake out of your hands to bring even more blood into the wrist, hands and fingers.

This simple warm up will do wonders to help your hands stay pain free. If your hands get stiff fast or your knuckles are prone to popping repeat all or part of the warm up throughout your work.  By starting a task with properly warmed up hands you greatly reduce your chance of injury... except for the occasional pesky steam burn! Avoiding that just take practice, happy canning everyone!

Rise and Shine!

      This week has been a wet one here in the Pioneer Valley, but it has not stopped the coming of all the amazing summer time, farm fresh offerings. Radishes, spinach, salad greens, sweet peas and the always delightful, fast-vanishing strawberries.  It was the strawberries that got me out of bed with the rising of the sun to spend a few rainy hours out in the fields of Delta Farm. It reminded me of my start in farming, waking at 6 am and getting paid $1.50 per-pint of picked strawberries. As the summer rolls in, rainy or hot, waking up early and pulling long hours before share pickup days or farmers markets is the way of the season for all you farmers out there. With that in mind I want to talk about 3 great things to do in the morning to help get your day off to a body-mindful start.
    The first is drinking a big glass of water.  I know that most of us go right to the coffee, myself included, but hear me out. Drinking enough water is one of the easiest and most effective things you can do to help your body stay strong and pain free through out your work day.  In the morning most of us are dehydrated and need to get water into our system even before food (or caffeine). In fact %75 of Americans are chronically dehydrated all the time. By drinking water first thing it can help you set up a routine of hydrating for the day. Staying hydrated has also been proven to decrease joint pain and muscle fatigue. So, before you go for the Joe fill your "#1 Farmer" or "Worlds Greatest Weeder" mug with some water and try to keep hydrating all day.
     The next thing you can do to get your body primed for a efficient and healthy workday is to get the blood flowing and maybe even break a sweat. I used to work for a farmer who would go for a jog at 5 am before bringing the cows in.  I would tease him and say he was a glutton for punishment, or that one day he would just keep running and never come back but it turns out he had the right idea. Doing a warming type of exercise that gets your heart rate up will not only shake off the sleepy fog but it helps to get fresh blood to all your muscles. This will help them to loosen and relieve stiffness by warming up the fibers so that they are more pliable and able to fire correctly. Fresh blood flow will also get more oxygen to your muscles and your brain. Studies have shown that the extra oxygen boost to the brain as a result of just 10 minutes of exercise in the morning can increase your alertness and overall energy level for up to 10 hours! An hour of being on your game in the morning is worth the minute of jumping jacks. I have followed in my farmer friends foot steps and go for a light jog but, push ups, jumping jacks or lunges would do the trick.
      Lastly, the stretches! In comparison to the idea of drinking water before coffee and jogging before chores these streaches will seem paltry. But, doing this simple set will help to flush out the waste in your muscles and lessen stiffness from the previous day or from sleeping in a funny position. Fist do a simple reaching up and forward bend to help extend your spine and release your lower back. Interlace your fingers and turn your palms out, bring your arms up over your head. Pretend your are being pulled up to the ceiling by your palms and stretch all the way from your hips to your hands. Bring your arms down to your sides and and roll down into a comfortable forward bend. Make sure to tuck your chin in and keep your feet flat on the ground.  Once you are back up do some head rolls to loosen up your shoulders and neck, the muscles that become the stiffest from sleep. I do ten to each side letting my head really drop in the places the stretch feels best. And last but not least, a quick quad stretch. The quads, the muscles on the front of your thigh, are the most over used muscles and can cause all sorts of residual pain in the hips, back and knees. So, loosening them up can do wonders for the rest of your body. Stand facing a wall and place your left hand on it for balance. Lift your right foot up toward your butt and catch it behind your with your right hand. Hold for 30 seconds and the switch sides.
     Hydrate, warm up and stretch! I hope these things help your morning lead to a more effective, pain free day of weeding, harvesting or dodging rain drops. Good Morning!

Hurry up and Wait

I am counting down the hours until I am done with massage school... literally. I have 6 more clinical hours to finish before I can begin the proses of sending my application for a license to the state board. An 800 hour program stretched over a year and a half has felt like a life time. Now it all comes down to waiting for the state massage board, 4 to 6 weeks of chomping at the bit. This brings me to today's post, what to do when you are waiting.

Down time in the farmers work day comes few and far between and we tend to fill even the smallest time gaps with tasks to do.  But once in a great while we are found waiting on something. Waiting for the rain to let up, waiting for the cows to come around, waiting for the vet or mechanic to show. This can be a great opportunity to stretch, do some active muscle engagement or relieve some strain that you can feel building. Though it can be tempting to use any time not spent on a task plunked down on a over turned bucket, by slumping into a "resting" posture you may actually be causing your muscles more stress. I mention this mostly because I do it, and it always makes me more sore in the long run. The science behind this is pretty straight forward, you let you muscles slack without getting rid of the waste that has built up from work you have done. It then gets stored in the fibers and creates knots, soreness and stiffness. Using the down time to stretch will not only help your muscles to relive the waste build up it will also keep your body warm and engaged so it will not take as much energy to start working again.

Here are two stretches and one core engagement that are great for when you have 5 to 10 minutes between tasks or as you wait for something. They are great as a set or on their own and are great for most work days. I also post them as ones to do wile you wait because they are all done from sitting on the ground, so they will be relaxing as well as helpful! NOTE: You you have chronic injures that disincline you to these stretches or you start one and feel any pain do not do them. Using your down time to do any stretch is good,they do not have to be the ones I mention here.

First is a seated forward bend. Get down to the ground(or sit on a chair, hay bail or bucket if you have low back problems) and sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Bring you feet together and flex them so your toes point straight up. Starting by dropping your chin to your chest roll you spine down bit by bit running your hands along the outside of your legs. Then extend you torso as far as it can go with your arms outstretched for a good 10 seconds. Roll back up and repeat 3 more times.
Once you are done raise your arms above your head and slide your shoulder blades down your back. On a out breath engage your abdominals by pulling them in toward your spine. Keeping your spine straight hinge from your hips and lean back. The farther you go the harder it will get, so go as low as feels ok. Hold for 5 seconds(here you can add a little twisting to get your obliques) then come back up slowly, keeping your back long. Repeat 2 or 3 more times, going lower each time if you can.
Lastly, bend your left knee and place your foot on the outside of your right leg. Depending on how flexible you are you can place it higher up the leg, but start conservative by placing it between your foot and knee.  Put you left hand behind you and your right elbow to your left knee, twisting to your left. *Twist carefully! This is a great stretch but it should be done with caution as it can be intense *  Drop your chin to your chest and do a slow head roll. Come back to center and repeat on the other side.



 

First Steps

    The snow is long gone, the blackflies are out, the seeds are started and the tractors are running till dark.  It is nearing the last frost date which marks the beginning of the farmers year!  The days are getting longer and we are working like crazy to get that often-talked-about but seldom-seen head start on the growing season.  This is also the best time for my first post as the Flexible Farmer! Before we get Muckboot deep in work and all the aches and pains that come with it, let's take the time to get in the habit of stretching and taking care of your most important tool, your body. In today's post I'll give you the How, the When and the What of effective and efficient stretching.

    Let's start with the basic rules of thumb for general stretching, the how. First, make sure your muscles are warmed up. Stretching cold can damage muscles, so don't roll out of bed and think you can touch your toes. Wait until you have been working awhile and you feel your blood moving. Next, if you are going to stretch a muscle by bending a major joint (for example, you want to stretch your quads so you bend your knee) rotate that joint a little.  By rotating the joint you bring more fluid to the joint capsule which will keep it from popping and cracking. Last, go slow and breath deep.  Don't rush into your stretches, go into them carefully, stretching until you can feel it (and by it I do not mean pain, I mean the sweet spot where you can feel the stretch), hold it for two big breaths, about 30 seconds, and then come out slowly.

    Here's the when... as much as you can! It may sound simple but the best way to start fitting stretching into your work day is to try to fit it in.  At first you will remember just a few times a day when your body talks to you. You jump down from the tractor and your low back aches, stretch then. At the end of the row of laying mulch your neck and shoulders tense, stretch then.  Before you know it, stretching will become second nature and you will know to stretch before you feel the aches of muscle fatigue. Another way to remember to stretch is to put a reminder up at a site you frequent. Tie some yarn around the water spigot, tack a scrap of Tyvek to the tool shed, or put some fuzzy dice on the tractor.  It doesn't have to be fancy, just something that will remind you to take a moment to care for your body.

    The what is a set of four basic stretches you can do every day. This set works most of the major muscle groups so, no matter what you are doing these stretches will be helpful. You should try to do them in this order as a set, but some is better than none!

1) Shoulder, Neck and Upper Back; bring one arm in front of your body, elbow bent. With your other arm grab your bent elbow. Drop your chin to your chest and pull your elbow toward the other side. To get deeper into your neck, do a few head rotations  Repeat on the other side.

2) Mid and Low Back; place your feet hip width apart and bend your knees slightly.  Slowly round your upper back then bend at your waist and hang down (however far "down" is for you, hands at your knees or toes). Come out of the stretch by bending your knees deeper and rolling up slowly.
3) Knee, Hip and Back of the Leg; Step one foot forward no more than two feet. Placing your hands on the outstretched leg bend down like you did in the previous stretch. Bring your feet back and then repeat on the other side.

4) Knee, Hip and Front of the Leg; Balance your weight on one foot. Bend your other knee bringing your heal toward your butt. Catch your foot  with the hand on the same side and pull it gently backward and slightly up. Drop slowly and repeat on other side.

You are now on your way to being a more flexible farmer. The first steps to a healthy and prosperous growing season is taking care of your body.  Good luck and happy farming!