Physiotherapy 3

So on Sunday, I had my third physiotherapy session.

Yes, it was bloody painful again!! 

This time we focused on my arms and chest. Of course the therapist worked on my legs but this time I told her that I had a lot of pain between my shoulder blades. So, we checked my back and she yelped when she felt how cold it was. This, apparently, is not normal. It's proof that I have very poor blood circulation there and that's why it's cold and painful...

So, we started off with an essential oil massage of my entire back and focusing on my spine. She dropped different mixtures of essential oils along my spine and then massaged it as if flushing out the impurities that tend to collect there. She also focused on the area between my shoulder blades and said how rock hard my back was. It was beyond stiff... Basically, she says, my shoulder blades are embedded in my muscles when they should be able to move more freely... Yikes!! After the massage, she put a hot towel on my back to help the essential oils penetrate into my skin. Did it every feel good!! 

Then she worked on my the back of my feet and then the entire legs. This was painful... But we focused on my legs last time so this time she didn't spend too much time on them. Not that they have improved at all. Just shifting the focus to the upper half of my body this time around.

She focused on my upper arms and shoulder area so that my shoulders can naturally roll back to their proper position and that will lead to my chest opening up more so I can breathe more easily. If my arms and shoulders  are in the correct position, I'll be able to lower my rib cage more and create more distance between my chin and chest so I don't get so congested.

Now moving the shifted muscles in the upper arm and shoulders was extremely painful!! It's amazing how twisted the muscles can become. What I mean is, your muscles from the shoulders rotate towards your chest and to balance that, your muscles in your lower arms rotate backwards. This should normally be the other way around.

The way to check to see if your muscles have twisted is to hold your arm straight out to your side horizontal to the floor with palm facing forward. Now see which direction the groove that forms at the elbow joint on the insider of your arm faces. If it faces the same direction as your palm you are safe. Your muscles are in the correct position. If it faces an angle or straight up, that means your shoulder muscles have twisted forward into an incorrect position. For women, this means their breasts have sagged as well... If the shoulder muscles rotate back to their original position, the chest muscles will pull up and so will the breasts.

So, the therapist worked to rotate the muscles back to the original position but they were very stubborn so it's gonna take some more time!!

After that, we worked on breathing properly and lowering my rib cage again. I lied flat on my back and practice breathing using my diaphragm. Basically sucking in air to fill up my lungs and expelling the air by expanding the stomach area. So when I inhale, my torso stretches (becomes longer) and when I exhale my torso compresses (body curls a bit).

I had no idea how difficult it is to do this!!  I never thought about how to breathe...

So my "homework" for the next month is to practice this breathing whenever I can. To make it more effective, I am to lie on the ground face up, put my legs on a balance ball and breathe. Then move my legs so that the balance ball rolls back and forth as I continue the breathing method (body contracts and expands as I breathe). In addition, I will continue the pelvis exercise from last time. I do this either before going to bed or in the morning.

Slowly but surely!!

The Muppets

Just watched "The Muppets" (2011) on DVD today.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204342/
It was really fun and brought back fond memories!!

I've always been a fan and I can remember how I used to look forward to watching "The Muppet Show" every week. After the series ended, I always looked for the reruns to be aired on TV too. Now I look back and wish that I had recorded them...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muppet_Show

I used to go to my school library and borrow every single children's book I could get my hands on that had the Muppet characters in them too.
Who was my favorite character...? Hmm... I really loved all of them... I can't say I had a particular favorite. They were all so unique!!

Jim Henson and Frank Oz were amazing puppeteers and they created some wonderful characters. "Seasame Street" will forever be in my memories for this was the show that helped me learn English outside of school.   Also, the movie "The Dark Crystal" (1982) is one of my all time favorite movies.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/?ref_=sr_1

The two and their crew have brought laughter, hope and encouragement for many children around the world. They are definitely my heroes!!

Now in the 21st century where computer animation is the norm, such kinds of unique characters are rare to find. I don't have children of my own nor do I see and play with children on a regular basis so I don't know what kinds of stuffed toys are popular nowadays. What do children snuggle up with when they go to bed? Kinda hard to do that with computer graphic robots and dragons... The scope of imagination has really changed since I was a child... Or am I just out of the loop since I don't have any children around me...? Maybe I should drop by a Toys R Us sometime soon and see what's out there!!

The trip down memory lane was definitely refreshing though. I wonder what other movie from the 80's I should check out next!!

Studying

So I've started studying the Korean language since my infatuation with three Korean boy bands called TVXQ, or Tohoshinki (in Japan), Super Junior, and Big Bang, started last summer.

They all sing in Korean, of course, and they have songs in Japanese, in Chinese and in English as well. Since I understand Japanese and English, that's not a problem. Chinese, that's much lower on my list of priorities... But their main language is Korean so of course they have the most songs in Korean. Obviously, I want to understand what they are singing. So, I started to learn the language on my own.

Another motivation is the food!! How amazingly delicious!! I really love going to Korean restaurants and eating with my good friends.  So, I want to be able to understand the menu and the way things are cooked. That way I could cook them at home for myself!!

Plus, I had the opportunity to go to Seoul, Korea last year in November with two good friends so before going I tried to pick up some useful phrases. I had phrases in my head but they didn't come out the way I wanted nor at the right timing... Dismal, to say the least... I did loose some confidence...

But since then, I've been studying hard and from December, thanks to a dear friend, I was introduced to a language exchange partner who wants to improve her English in exchange for giving me Korean lessons. Yeah!!

Now, it's been about two months since I've seriously started to study with some guidance and I am definitely getting a hang of the grammar. I can build sentences and create mini dialogues by myself. I am learning more about the cultural nuances as well as some natural phrases. I can read the language but my vocabulary level is still too low so I can't understand everything yet... But I'm not giving up!!

I am really having fun with it!!
But, it isn't easy...
I have to review so much and keep going back to past lessons to confirm my sentences... I sometimes wonder "how stupid am I?!"
Real downer...
When that happens I put on my headphones and drown myself in my favorite singers' songs for a pick-me-up!!
I am definitely not giving up on myself!! 

I hope I can write some entries in Korean, Japanese and English on this Blog site someday too!!

Long weekend

So it was a long weekend this past February 9th, 10th, and 11th here in Japan. I only had two days off but wanted to chill so I went to rent some movies.

I ended up renting some Japanese movies I had wanted to watch last year.
The first was "Rurouni Kenshin".

This was originally a comic series written by Nobuhiro Watsuki, that started in 1994 and ended in 1999.
It was so huge here and internationally that finally a love action movie version was produced.
As some of today know, such movies can be a hit or a miss... ("Dragon Ball", to name one huge flop) But this movie was great!! I may not have liked a couple of the casted actors but put that aside, it was awesome!!
The fight scenes were so well choreographed and very thrilling!! Yes, quite bloody at times...
The story was pretty much true to the original story too so fans weren't disappointed about that.
I hope there will be a sequel!!

The second movie I watched was "Space Brothers". This also is originally a comic series that started in 2008 and is still running. It's written by Yuuya Koyama.
The story takes place in the near future of 2025 and is about two brothers and how each of them become space pilots.
It's a very comical story and each character is quite unique. But the basic theme throughout is about believing in oneself and in others and not giving up.
The movie focused only on the first part of the series but it was enough to get an idea of the story and to enjoy the unique characters.
The actors were well casted and were true to the image of the comic book.

Both movies were very good and entertaining but if I had to buy one, it'd definitely be "Rurouni Kenshin". Plus it'd be the Blu-Ray version with all the extras, too!!

Now, what to rent next...