Freedom Philosophy

Scene from my daily run in Yamanashi

When I was on faculty at Hopkins School in New Haven, CT, I worked with a guy called Dean Nicholson. He was an avid NORBA Masters class racer and 15 years later probably still is. At the tender age of 24 he taught me to schedule an appointment with myself every day. I still remember him giving me an overview of the strategy.

Think about it, he said. If people call up and ask if they can meet you at 1pm and you have a conflicting appointment, it is easily accepted when tell them you aren’t available – after all you have a conflicting appointment. The same thing doesn’t hold if you tell them, ’sorry I can’t make it, I’m going cycling, running, or climbing’ take your pick. None of those reasons fly. People take offense to being turned down so you can work out. Why is that so? Why are we any less important than other people? The solution is to schedule in an immovable appointment with yourself.

Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing and honor it as if it were an appointment with the dean of faculty from Yale University. You wouldn’t miss an appointment with an administrator from Yale and why are they any more important than you are.

Dean was a very fit and very wise man. I haven’t forgotten his words and in this self-change project I have taken “the appointment with yourself idea” further with Prestwich, Perugini, and Hurling’s (2009) smart-phone reminders.

Everyday I get a message on my phone thanks to google calendar and google sync for blackberry that corresponds to an open block of time. Depending on the time availability and location I either do a simple workplace stretch or a more full-blown flexibility workout. Also included in these messages are various motivational phrases such as Tommy Lasorda’s

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

Dean gave me an easy to implement tip on facilitating determination. Google Calendar and Blackberry makes is easy to remember and even lets me know if I try to schedule something over one of my workouts with the simple phrase, “Conflict with another appointment on this calendar”. This is every bit as matter of fact and firm as Dean would have loved to see. I’d like to write more on the topic but I have another appointment.

Prestwich, A., Perugini, M., & Hurling, R. (2009). Can the effects of implementation intentions on exercise be enhanced using text messages?.

Counselling Study, Editorial, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition, Technology Health Fitness

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As part of my flexibility self-change project I enrolled in a Yoga class that meets once a week in the dance studio at school. It is reasonably priced but I did find a less expensive class with the same instructor up at a local sports club on a different night of the week. Convenience is more valuable than money sometimes so I’ve opted to go with the class that fits into my schedule.

Yoga was one of my action planning strategies for increasing flexibility. I am motivated to go by the people in the class and enjoy the sessions. There are no other men in the class which is interesting from a demographic perspective but not a factor either way for me. As part of the HAPA process I intended to identify action coping strategies to barriers. The barriers I anticipated before diving into the project were more around scheduling and I admit having back up strategies in mind when the time just disappears has been useful. I am having trouble with my left wrist, however, in yoga which is very frustrating. I experience sharp shooting pain across the top of the joint during some of the repeated core poses of Vinyasa yoga. Fortunately my instructor today offered some alternative pose suggestions that focus the force across my forearms and not directly onto that wrist. This was not a barrier I anticipated however, so it was much more troubling than the scheduling issues I thought would be the real difficulty.

As the caption above says, I am stiff but am feeling better and better. I will carry on with home stretching between now and next Wednesday so hope to see some improvement between now and then.

Counselling Study, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition

This yoga sequence is part of a larger flexibility development project that I am involved in for a health psychology unit in graduate school. This is the first of 3 or 4 different workouts that I will do as part of my daily routine to build in stretching. This workout is one I know how to do and can realistically implement. I am not a yoga instructor and am a novice practitioner at best.

3 Sun Cycles to Warm-Up

After the warm-up more intense focus on these poses (Smeaton, 2009)

Intense Forward Bend – Uttanasana
Stand upright and, exhaling, bend forward from the waist keeping the legs taut and body weight equal on both feet. Aim to touch the floor and, if possible, place the palms on the floor. Breathe evenly and try to increase the stretch on each out-breath. Hold for one minute. This intense stretch is wonderful for the hamstrings and spine. Those who find it easy to rest the palms on the floor can increase the stretch still further by placing the hands behind the feet.

Counselling Study, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition