MOBILITY – double lax ball calf smash!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNvIxbXHMg)
MINDFULNESS – consider the anorexic hermit crab!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgsvi3Tm7pI)
Today’s mobility work is to unglue some of those gross tissues in your medial and lateral calf!
You probably only think about your gastrocnemius, the big drumstick muscle, when you think about your calf. There’s a whole lot more there and a whole lot of gross stuff if you are a runner!
Try this one out, it is worth finding a second lax ball to really get the most out of this mobilization technique. Get ready to meet your calves 🙂
Today’s mindfulness consideration is the anorexic hermit crab!
Hermit crabs take the discarded shells of other shellfish and use them as their mobile homes. As crabs grow and outgrow their current shells, they start to look for larger, more spacious homes.
There’s an awkward and vulnerable moment as the hermit crab transitions out of the old and into the new– it’s naked and exposed to the world.
An anorexic hermit crab is one that avoids this moment of vulnerability. Instead of growing, it actively inhibits its own progress by starving itself of nutrients and opportunities.
There are many ways we can act as this anorexic hermit crab– working at a job we hate because we don’t want to start that new career that doesn’t have a 401k or pension. Maybe it’s not asking out that cute coworker because you are afraid of rejection. Perhaps you have been meaning to try out rock climbing but don’t want to be the newbie in the gym.
Personally, I’m comfortable making these M&MWOD posts and videos but I don’t want feel comfortable getting my message out and promoting what I am doing.
This crab that is afraid of growing is the part of us that is afraid of being vulnerable. It’s within us all, but we can choose whether or not to listen to it. Easier said than done.
Life is very different when you are willing to go through the painful growth process and get into that newer, spacious shell.
Eugene H Kim 