Raking, Shoveling and Weeding – Oh My!

Today I spent the day getting my yard cleaned up. It is amazing how exhausting this chore can be! My husband made fun of my as I volunteered to rake, because it was better exercise than leaf blowing. Something must be wrong with me! 

As the wind blew and stirred up more leaves where I had just raked I was reminded of how important it is to be engaged in what you are doing...even when it is chores!  I didn't do any kind of warm up and I was thinking about how that was kinda numb, because my shoulders were totally burning. 

Raking will soon be over with and winter will approach quickly so let's think about shoveling. Every year we have so many students come in with a sore back or hurt shoulder from shoveling. There is twisting and bending and tossing involved here. I double dog dare you to wear your Myzone this winter when your are shoveling- it is a serious workout, but do we warm up before shoveling? Doubtful. I know I don't.

How about weeding? Every spring we talk about how much our back hurts after spending hours in the garden. We hold this horrid position for hours- of course it hurts! But dang, our gardens look pretty!! We have to pay attention. We have to be engaged in what we are doing.

This is my reminder to be mindful when you are doing your chores. These are the activities that we train for, right? Breathe, brace, warm up and rest!  Be mindful of your form. We are all on a time crunch, but an extra 5 minutes can save you hours, days, weeks of pain and soreness.

Coach Meagan