loving art, science and creative kids
4/28/2017 9:24:27 PM
Spring has Sprung
40” by 20” / acrylic on Canvas, $499
I don't know who wrote this version of Spring has Sprung but I remember it well from childhood.
Spring has Sprung, The grass is Riz, I wonder where my jacket is?
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
When I was a child I lived in Philadelphia where baseball was king. After work, Dad would gather my sister, brothers, and me, for a game of catch on the side lawn. Family picnics and summer camps always included a baseball game. And though I threw like a girl, which isn’t saying much,I was not a bad batter and was a middle pick when captains selected players.
On weekends Dad took us the see the winning Phillies and the declining Philadelphia Athletics (As). Dad had grown up with the Athletics, one of baseball’s two original teams, and was loyal to them until they moved. Men like Yogi Berra, Stan the Man Musial, Mickey Mantle, and Jacki Robinson were household names. When Robin Roberts helped the Phillies win the pennant in 1950 my friends and I were glued to the radio.
I remember ball park excursions and how dozens of kids were gathered outside to see if a home run ball would come whizzing over the wall so they could trade it in for admittance. Once inside the park we sang the national anthem and shouted with mounting excitement the moment, the announcer said “play ball.” A bag of peanuts, cracker jacks with its hidden toy, the taste of a hot dog smothered with mustard, a soft drink, and an occasional stomach ache adds to my memories. I also think of the time we forgot where we parked the car and took an hour to walk up and and down nearby streets before it was located.
In those days, attending major league games was in the reach of everyone. It was not, as it is today, a pastime of the wealthy. Two weeks ago, I found it difficult to believe a friend who told me he thought of going to the opening game in Seattle and paying $300 for a ticket. How many people have that much disposable income?
I decided to explore the cost of attending a typical game and find out if the price is still within the reach of most people. I learned that the average cost for bleacher seats for two people across all 30 major league teams is $ 77.92. If you add parking $16-$ 25, two hot dogs, $8.73, and $11.89 for two beers or drinks, it will cost a minimum of $ 114.54. Most fans consume more than one hot dog and buy a program and occasional souvenir. Attending games in older stadiums such as Fenway Park in Boston or Wrigley Field in Chicago may add $110 to the bill.
In 1950,Dad paid $ 1.59 for a ticket to the Phillies and even taking into account inflation, the price was reasonable. Over the years much has changed to make the average family unable to attend and cheer their heroes. No longer is baseball a way to escape misery as many did during the depression.
In order to understand how the game has changed, let’s consider the how the cost of financing a team escalated. The New York Knickerbockers was given the first hurdle in 1885 when asked to pay rent. It wasn’t long before franchise owners started paying good players “under the table” in order to keep them loyal. Revenue to pay expenses was primarily generated from tickets sales, but that changed over time because of radio, television, and print media.
My father told me that in the1940s his entire family sat in the living room listening to radio sports casters stirring imaginations with lively accountings. When television and print media took over, fans could see for themselves what was occurring and it want to attend live games. And as they came, so did licensed memorabilia. Money wise owners granted rights to show games on television and received money from advertisers to use their team brand.
Until the early 1950s Major Baseball League (MLB ) was composed of 16 teams in 10 cities, none west of St. Louis. Beginning in the late 60s, 14 franchises were added until the American and National leagues reached15 teams each (one is Canadian). With growth, new stadiums were constructed, and again attendance soared by 44%. Teams were bought and sold, and some business savvy owners moved their purchases to markets with a larger population. As the game continued to gain in popularity, players become more expensive to recruit and keep. In 2016, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers was paid $34.5 million. The best athletes were turned into heroes by the media which attracted more fans willing to pay higher prices for admission.
The cost of owning a team appears to have no end as expenses continue to rise. In 2010, the Yankees generated $325 million in ticket revenues, giving them a profit of over $ 100 million. But, since teams now engage in revenue sharing as a way of improving competitiveness, the Yankees had to pay out $75 million for distribution to teams in smaller markets. Stadium expenses, staffing, and pre-game entertainment add to the expenses that owners pass on to fans.
Though ticket prices have escalated, it is the add-ons that have really made a difference to the wallets of the average attendee. Fans eventually got used to paying for everything sold in the park. They pay to watch batting practice in the spring, for pre game entertainment, and $11 for a beer. Those watching at home, pay an average of $ 67 per month for cable TV.
Strange as it sounds talented athletes have negatively affected the excitement fans get from watching them play. Strikeouts have increased, base and home runs decreased, and scores are lower, making the game less lively for many. Playoffs stretch into late fall, with the World Series starting in October. The 162 games played throughout the spring and summer have less meaning for those waiting for the final competition.
Attendees are older and overwhelmingly composed of white men (70% —the TV audience is older than that of any other major sport. To the concern of many, the number of kids playing baseball has steadily declined over the past two decades.
One problem is that attending a game has increased from two to a six hour commitment which does not attract busy millennials. The game is longer, in part, because pitchers are changed more frequently and because of extensive pre-game activities. For example, the St Louis Cardinals have a Pregame Party that starts 2 1/2 hours before the game and features a DJ or live music that lasts until the first pitch. A full buffet and bar are included, requiring an additional fee.
One reason MLB attendance has been relatively steady over the years is that our country’s population continues to increase. There were 180 million people in the United States in 1960 and this month, April, 2017, there are over 326 million.
Though baseball attendance peaked in 2007, it has not yet recovered, producing inklings of concern for the faithful. In 2016, MLB it was again down slightly from the previous year, the third decline of the last three years. Attendance continues to fall at Little League and College World Series events. Optimists, believe expansion is inevitable but say that it will occur internationally rather than locally.
I wonder what will happen if ticket prices continue to climb, making them unaffordable to the average fan? Will it die does not attract more young people? A friend complained that the expansion to 30 franchises in the 70s and 80s diluted the talent pool, but others discount his opinion as players are recruited from Asia and Latin America. I am not sure that fans have the same passion for foreign born players as they did for home grown ones.
What do fans do who want to keep the sport alive? Dads who grew up with the game, face problems of whether to attend with their family. Since the average cost for four is $305, should Dad go alone or save so the family can attend one game a year? Should he take the children to a B team instead? Baseball is not as much fun to watch on television when you are by yourself. Do you think Dads will get their children to turn off the computer and bond by joining them for the game? Given two parent workers, is it possible to allocate time for a daily catch?
Some children do become involved in little league. However, that is a financial burden for low income families, for they need to purchase bats, gloves, helmets, shoes and perhaps private lessons. I can imagine how astronomical the costs are for my neighbor whose son travels with a team. Kids from single family homes have an especially difficult time joining a team. According to a recent study at the University of Nebraska, “95 percent of all college baseball players come from two parent homes.”
Baseball is still considered the nation’s national sport despite the fact that football games have higher TV ratings, stronger attendance, and revenue. Baseball maintains its position as America’s pastime because it has a broader reach into society. It manages to keep a local following while football’s is national. I hope it stays that way. Paying $ 700 for a ticket to Hamilton or $500 for the opera is just plain over the top. Let’s hope that baseball doesn’t become equally insensitive. Shouldn't the average family be able to rally around at least one professional sport that has tickets within their reach?
References:
Aumack, Ray The Economics of Baseball, 2012, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/21/by-the-numbers-the-economics-of-baseball/
Tuttle, Brad, 9 Reasons It’s Hard to be a Baseball Fan Today, Money Magazine, 2015,
http://time.com/money/3772690/baseball-losing-fan-interest/
Hudgens, Laura Hanby, The decline of Baseball and Why it Matters, Huffpost, 2016,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-hanby-hudgens/the-decline-of-baseball-a_b_9630782.html
Dodd, Mike, MLB expansion effects still felt 50 years later around the leagues, USA Today, 2011, https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2011-04-07-angels-baseball-expansion_N.htm
Lindholm, Scott, Major League attendance trends, past, present, and future, SB nation, 2014, http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/2/10/5390172/major-league-attendance-trends-1950-2013
Barra, Allen, Sorry, NFL: Baseball is Still America’s Pastime, The Atlantic, 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/sorry-nfl-baseball-is-still-americas-pastime/280985/
Official site of the St. Louis Cardinals - Pre Game show, 2017, http://m.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/info/pregame
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I look forward to you comments.
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
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CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Upcoming Book Talks
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon,
Eugene - May 23, 2017
Lake Oswego Library - June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend - October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Broadway Books, MAC Emporium, Also on Kindle
for signed copy contact the author.
4/22/2017 9:28:15 PM
Summer Night’s Dream
Acrylic on Canvas, 26” ato 32”, Gold Frame, $498
The Anthroplogist's Way
We are afloat in a world that has changed. The systems we grew up with in comfort are no longer applicable for a blended society that spans the globe.
In college I majored in cultural anthropology, a pursuit my parents thought was one step up from useless. Since they assumed I would get married rather than travel the world to live among exotic tribes, they were not worried and never complained. They were right, since I did get married at 18 and was a mother at 21. I never did get to the outreaches of Nigeria where I hoped find an unstudied people who would lead me to fame and fortune.
Looking back, I realize that I could not have made a better choice of major. Anthropology taught me a great deal, and continues to guide my thoughts. It helped me understand how each person is culturally tied to the world from a unique vantage. And, though we reside within communities, our individual struggles set us up as the center of our own universe. We peer through tinted glasses shaded by family, community, economic conditions, and our own experiences.
Yet, with all of our differences, societies are similar in that they are organized around common systems. To understand the interrelationships between individuals, groups and institutions we studied beliefs and ways of organizing. The systems are identified as:
- religion
- politics
- family structure
- economy
- social classes
- racial diversity
- gender roles
- ethical values,
- distribution of wealth
These categories create an exchange of energy that defines the whole. Every society has them yet in each society they differ.
Once I realized that people have similar organizational needs, I reasoned that ego-centricity is the main cause of tension between cultures. The more I learned, the more difficult it became to define a particular system as good, better or best for it each society’s systems were created relative to the totality of everything in the environment.
I thought of how clothing that is culturally defined, was most likely developed due to living in a particular climate and habitat. For instance, those living in a middle-eastern desert would need to cover head, face, and body for protection from sandstorms and the burning sun. After hundreds of years of finding these garments work well in harsh conditions, it is probable that the fashion was spread by nomads to nearby towns and cities. Since men and women in middle eastern countries are fully covered, their garments may also have contributed to ideas about morality and modesty. Of course, this is speculation on my part, but it makes some sense.
My high school history book talked about how ancient societies of hunters and gatherers slowly evolved to a more agrarian existence. Further readings explained how multiple pregnancies were welcome, for births insured the group’s survival. Childhood diseases and accidents were rampant before antibiotics and deaths frequent. Hunting was dangerous and farming families needed many hands to till the land.
Today’s world has different challenges. Augmented farming methods gave us the ability to feed more mouths with less need for labor. And though the birth rate has slowed in industrialized nations, population still increases in poor countries lacking resources. When a warming climate or war impacts their lives, they suddenly find that there is not enough safe, fertile land and drinkable water to survive. They are forced to migrate and come in conflict with strange organizational systems and beliefs.
Migrants as well as those in resident communities become confused, don’t understand and conflicting feelings about the ways others view the world. The centers of their universes have overlapped, causing tension that can even lead to war. It happens quickly, with little time to understand or accommodate.
Systems that previously worked become suspect as migrants provide their input though even though most of their ideas are looked down upon by the dominant society. Few of us don’t want to change. We hold on to our beliefs as though they are etched in stone forever more. We scream, fight, belittle, and say that we will not move away from what we have always known. We prefer to remain in a childhood comfort zone.
Time does not stand still and migrants do, in fact, influence change. Societies constantly and painfully reorganize systems that mix cultural norms. The pushing and shoving, giving and taking going on around us is exacerbated by war, climate warming, population growth. Yet, eventually a synergy will result from this blending of cultures and people slowly adapting.
There are no absolutes. As mentioned earlier, we each see things from the center of our own universe. Einstein spent his waning years looking for a unified theory of the universe. His search for one unqualified, universal truth remains an unsolved challenge. We may never know absolute truth and for now, at least, have to deal with uncertainty and chaos.
What this means for most, is that we must constantly question and then realign systems as new input is received. It involves investigating beliefs and allowing that there are conflicting views that may be valid but we may never know for sure.
My parents would be surprised to discover that an anthropologist’s way of looking at systems might help people live together compassionately. By exploring common needs around food, water, land use and population perhaps we can make rational decisions to reorganize systems that benefit the majority. Let’s also agree to disagree, when it comes to items of religious faith and customs around family as long as others are not hurt. To live on this earth together, we have to bend a little.
References:
1. Definition of Socio Cultural Anthropology, http://www.cod.edu/dept/anthro/cultural%20anthropology%20definition.htm
2. Noakes, Zoe, Why do the Poor Have Large Families? Compassion, January 2011, https://www.compassion.com.au/blog/why-do-the-poor-have-large-families
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I look forward to you comments on my blog site [email protected]/blog.
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Upcoming Book Talks
Old Boys Club - Tigard - April 28, 2017
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon,
Eugene - May 23, 2017
Lake Oswego Library - June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend - October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Broadway Books, MAC Emporium, Also on Kindle
for signed copy contact the author.
4/15/2017 9:08:17 PM
Rub a Dub Dub Five Men in a Tub
Acrylic painting on Canvas/ 42” by 54” / $ 790
Courageous explorers set out to sea and disproved the flat earth theory. What if they hadn’t? Galileo was punished for saying the earth travelled around the sun. What if he (and others) hadn’t? Salk wiped out polio with a vaccine? What if people had refused to give it to their children?
Science vs Belief
In 2015, Julie Beck wrote an article for The Atlantic saying Americans Believe in Science, Just Not its Findings. Though 79 percent of Americans do think life is much easier because of science and that investments in research are worthwhile, they question the findings. A recent Pew Research study concurred that there is a large gap between what the public believes compared to the beliefs of scientists. Following is a quote from the report:
- Genetically modified foods: 88 percent of scientists say they’re "generally safe" to eat; 37 percent of the public agree.
- Vaccines: 86 percent of scientists believe they should be required in childhood, compared to 68 percent of the public.
- Climate change: 94 percent of scientists say it’s a “very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem; 65 percent of the public agree. 87 percent of scientists blame humans; 50 percent of the public does too.
- Evolution: 98 percent of scientists say they believe humans evolved over time, compared to 65 percent of the public.
- There were also large disparities on issues like whether it’s safe to eat foods grown with pesticides (scientists: 68 percent; public: 28 percent), and
- whether the world’s growing population will be a problem (scientists: 82 percent; public: 59 percent).
Instead of trusting facts, the public tunes into feelings. People are quick to turn to pseudoscience when they want to refute a claim they dislike, for most any reason. While they trust and respect scientists, they don’t believe in their evidence-heavy research. Dan Kahan, professor at Yale Law Schools asserts that there is a “creeping anti-science sensibility” overtaking the country and it is gradually getting worse. I wanted to know why.
Pew research scientists say that the fault is with the media because they don’t know how to present complex information in a concise manner that can be easily digested. Scientific information does not lend itself to being communicated through sound bites and reporters can’t capture their reader’s attention for a long enough period of time to present results and their ramifications. Many people have stopped reading newspapers altogether and are not apt to come across science articles while browsing the web.
There are, however, other factors to consider beside the media. Religion, jobs, and past experience with faulty science causes people to reject studies they don’t like. Preferring childhood indoctrinations and conclusions they draw from personal experiences, they use them to sieve through research findings. In other words, they stay committed to their own beliefs which may or may not be based on tested results. It may be why so many people argue that ghosts are real, that holding your laptop on your lap will make you sterile, that talking on your cell phone will give you cancer, or that sugar makes your kids crazy. Many also believe that hair and nails continue to grow after you die, that crossing your legs gives you varicose veins, and that brown eggs are better for you than white.
The 2015 international student assessment test (PISA), given to 15 year olds, revealed that out of 71 countries the United States placed 38th in math and 24th in science. Though math scores steadily increased since the early 1990s, in 2009 they once again started to dip. Science scores showed a very slight improvement. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) blames our country’s overall weak scores on poor STEM education in the schools.
The statistics are more discouraging for adults, for only 28 percent of the population qualifies as being scientifically literate. However, those who are interested in science and engineering and continue on for advanced degrees tend to excel in their fields. “The United states has done more to advance science in the modern world than any other country on earth,” says physician/researcher Danielle Teller.
Our engineering schools are among the top in the world and medical research still remains among the best, though it is slipping. At the highest level of academic achievement the country performs well, but the general public falls behind in understanding scientific subjects. One reason may be that scientists have not been able to connect their researched to daily life in order for it to have meaning to the public. Instead, their information is presented in confusing bullets that claim findings to be truthful but say there are nuances to the study that need to be more carefully evaluated. It is difficult for the average person to know what to make of the information so they stop trying. Rather than show their ignorance, many simply say, “I don’t believe it.”
What do we do about the public’s lack of understanding? How do we communicate to those who are not interested in science and what is important for them to know? For over 50 years the National Science Foundation (NSF) had science initiatives that funded programs like NOVA, encouraged building science centers, and supported innovations in teaching. The present administration is reversing the trend by cutting research budgets for NSF and NIH (National Institute of Health) as well as funds targeted for science literacy. I suppose their reasoning is that if they are not going to accept the outcome of the research, why conduct the studies in the first place? If they do not want public discourse about the impact of fossil fuels to the environment, why give out research grants? Should we care? Perhaps we need to think about the subject a bit differently.
Science literacy is not just about facts for it prescribes what to do with them. It is about being able to predict and explain natural phenomena like volcanoes, tornadoes, and tidal waves. It enables informed participation in civic, cultural, and economic affairs and defines ways to make judgements about the future. Scientific literacy is crucial in that it affects everyday decision making, but it is also personal in that it buts up against societal values. Since many value-laden beliefs get applied to critical issues, you have to accept that much more than the latest study is involved.
Science is a way of thinking—a process involving ideas, collecting data, developing a hypothesis (an educated guess), testing, and coming to a conclusion only to start the process over again. It is not focused on absolute perfect answers but rather ton outcomes based on the best input data available at the time. It involves challenging preconceived notions, over and over again in a never ending cycle.
It is difficult to live in a world without absolutes but due to high speed communication we are forced to do so in order to decide which findings and innovations will benefit society. Decisions are constantly having to be made, and they can’t be allowed to be based on thin air. For instance, we know how to make robots and drones, but do we know how we want to use them? Should they deliver packages, pick up passengers, clean our homes, and bomb distant villages? How do we deal with their noise or the problems they create for those who will lose their jobs? Who decides if all children need to be vaccinated? Is there such a thing as clean coal? What is an acceptable level of toxins to allow in drinking water?”
Science literacy also includes understanding how data is manipulated and purposefully misinterpreted for political and business reasons. Informed people need to ask how information is collected, what biases are involved, and who is footing the bill for the study. We need to be able to interpret statistical information so as not to be fooled. It also behooves us to look for mental laziness on the part of the investigator and to make sure that researchers aren’t just looking for comfort results that fortify their cherished opinions.
Inquiry can be used to reenforce long held beliefs or can be used to shed light on the universe. It can give us answers to curious inquiries and a platform for the next great discovery or fodder for those who want to negate findings. Whether science is used for good or for evil depends on our values and motivations. Since we are traveling speedily through the universe, clinging to the land by means of gravity, it behooves us to understand as much as possible in order to protect and sanely develop our spaceship earth.
References:
Beck, Julie, The Atlantic, 2015 , Americans Believe in Science, Just not its findings, In https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/americans-believe-in-science-just-not-its-findings/384937/
Desilver, Drew, Pew Research Center, 2017, U.S. Students’ academic achievement still lags that of their peers in many other countrieshttp://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/
Lombrozo, Tania, 2015, NPR, Scientific Literacy: It’s Not Just about the facts,
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/09/14/440213603/scientific-literacy-it-s-not-just-about-the-facts
Teller, Danielle Quartz MEdia LLC, 2016,There’s a good reason Americans are horrible at science,https://qz.com/588126/theres-a-good-reason-americans-are-horrible-at-science/
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Please share your thoughts on my blog site.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Upcoming Book Talks
Old Boys Club - Tigard - April 28, 2017
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon,
Eugene - May 23, 2017
Lake Oswego Library - June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend - October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Broadway Books, MAC Emporium, Also on Kindle
for signed copy contact the author.
4/7/2017 4:57:16 PM
Eva
She contemplates her future and thinks about the steps she must take to make it better.
40” by 30” Acrylic on canvas, $599.
Repatterining for Life
There are times when we become so wrapped up in world events and family matters that we forget to take care of ourselves. Nourishing body, mind,and spirit are the most important things you can do with your time, for without strength in each of these areas, you can not serve the rest of humanity. As an older woman I still carry the child within me but it has become disguised. Over the years layer after layer of camouflage was added until it was difficult to find the core from which I came.
Can you look at your feet up close?
I decided to go back in time and consider how I first discovered the world when an infant. I imagine, that within a month of my birth, I started to wiggle out of my swaddling blanket in order to move more freely. After examining my hands and feet I most likely reached for the mobile hanging over my bed. Eventually, I was put on the floor where I learned to creep and crawl, shifting and twisting each limb until I could pull myself up. According to Mom, I was determined to stand upright to look around at nine months.
The skills I learned on the floor remain useful today, so I decided to relearn them with exercises designed to increase flexibility, mobility and balance. I began to experiment by rolling on the floor, wiggling my arms and legs as I flipped from front, to side, to back, to side again. Creeping on my stomach, I stretched an arm out, trying to touch items placed just beyond my reach. As an infant, I wanted to grab what I saw, so I pulled myself closer to my intended target. As an adult, I reminded myself to pay careful attention to the movements in order to understand My strengths and weaknesses. By rolling and crawling I not only became more fit but also learned to be more focused. This type of exercise is known as repatterning.
As a young woman, I observed its power when used as a therapy with man suffering from a brain injury. Several friends were part of a r crew who went daily to his home to help with his physical therapy. Five volunteers were involved, each taking an arm, leg, or head in order to move his appendages in a cross crawl pattern. Positive results were seen in just a few months for as his muscles and mind started working together he began to respond to his intention. After a year of hard work work, the man was able to stand and take his first steps.
My own results from doing floor exercises repattemned my mind in ways I did not expect. Yes, I say mind—for the ability to move each limb is a function of the brain. It is a thought process based on intention that begins with the brain directing a part of the body to move. Muscles, nerves, limbs and digits become engaged, though it can take hours of hard work to reach your ultimate goal. Olympic skiers use similar mind-body exercises when they imagine what it is like to move down a challenging slope. Once their intention is embedded in their mind they take their finely tuned bodies and repetitively practice their intention.
A related therapy known as Resonance Repatterining was developed by Chloe Wordsworth in 1980 based in part on Chinese medicine, physics, brain research and energy psychology was developed to help people reach their full potential. The goal of Cloe’s programs is also to get mind and body working together. People try her treatment to overcome headaches, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and common life problems. Similarly, repatterining is used by those with spinal cord injuries, replaced hips and knees, the elderly, and the lazy who have not been exercising regularly.
There are many variations of repatterining exercises that might be right for you but I decided to share an easy one designed to improve strength, flexibility, agility, focus and balance. This classical mind-body training involves floor movements aimed at providing energy and eliminating pain. Why not give it a try? You don’t have to belong to an expensive health club to move like a baby on the floor.
Start by rolling on the floor and wiggling your feet, legs, and putting them in every shape possible. Be sure to move from stomach, to side, to back while you continue to move your limbs. After five minutes, go to your belly and creep by pulling yourself forward with your arms and a bit of wiggle motion.
Then raise your chest and rest on your elbows in order to look around, moving your head up and down to do so.
Bend one knee, and straighten the arm on the same side as the bent leg to elevate your chest even higher in order to twist to view your the feet. Try the other leg. Note if one side is easier than the other.
Once comfortable with rolling, looking and twisting motions, raise yourself to an elevated position on hands and knees in order to crawl. Move your head while you are doing so and look for an item that is just beyond your reach.
Stretch an arm or a foot and try to touch it.
Slowly raise a knee and put your foot flat on the floor. This will start you moving in a circular motion to stand. Softly and deliberately return to the floor using the same pattern. Eventually, you will be able to get up and down without using your hands. It is not as easy as it sounds. I am in good shape, yet still find these movements hard to do gracefully.
What is happening is that you are relearning how to use the small motor skills you acquired as an infant and then took for granted. You should be able to pop up and down from the floor quickly and with ease. At first, a lot of thought with little understanding will go into what you are doing, so pay close attention to the differences between your dominant and subordinate sides. Eventually the movements will be accomplished with little thought and a lot of understanding.
Repatterining is considered a physical therapy because it reduces muscle tension, but it is also helpful for mental health by reducing stress, sleep disorders, and excessive worry. Head, eyes, and cross crawl movements provide access to visual, auditory and kinesthetic centers of the brain.
To be mentally connected to muscles takes consciousness and it involves practice before a motor pattern can be executed unconsciously. Babies are constantly practicing patterned movements again and again without frustration. I remember my youngest son learning to climb up and down the stairs. He was determined to do so. Every time my husband or I removed him from the steps, he howled and immediately went back to try again. His persistence went on for an hour as we hovered over his body to make sure he didn’t fall.
In order to reestablish the skills we had in our early years, it is necessary recapture the patience and determination we also had. Let’s peel back the layers we used to disguise our movements and relearn to use our core strengths. Most of all, have great fun trying.
References:
Carrigan, Catherine, 200, Repatterning: Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Unlimited Energy nowunlimitedenergynow.com/repatterning-change-your-brain-change-your-life/
Lathrop, Kay, 2017, Intentional Exercise to Re-establish Neural Pathways, Amplified Agility, http://www.amplifiedagility.com/intentional-exercise/
Rex, Kimberly , Windows to the Heart Repatterining BLog, 2011, The Sincere Behind Resonance/Holographic Repatterining, https://windowstotheheart.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/the-science-behind-resonanceholographic-repatterning/
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
4/1/2017 1:22:31 PM
Yellow Headed Blackbirds - sold
These birds are like canaries in the coals mine in that they let us know if the air is safe. So far, their habitat is good, they have a wide range, and are not considered vulnerable. Let’s keep it that way. Birds suffer from air pollution just like we do and the emissions that drive climate change are an immediate health concern for them as well. According to the Audobo n society, birds are exposed to more airborne particles than humans because birds have a higher breathing rate and spend more time in the open air.”
HONG KONG
Starting in 1996, and for the following seventeen years, my catalog business took me to Hong Kong each January. I looked forward to the 14 hour trip because I escaped Portland’s cold, rainy weather and landed in the warmth and sun of the South China Sea. In the early years, the sky was a beautiful blue and people clipped along crowded streets dressed in short sleeved shirts. Eight years later, I noticed a change in the weather and had to alter my attire. Slightly overcast skies made me carry a spring jacket but it was still pleasant. By my fourteenth trip the clouds were so thick that the sun could not get through and I needed a winter coat. During my last visit, face masks were sprinkled throughout the crowd of walkers as they hurried to get inside. Yellow smog stung my eyes, making the trip much less enjoyable.
Hong Kong and Kowloon, it’s nearby neighbor, are not manufacturing hubs. They face the water and have gentle breezes washing over them. I couldn’t understand where the smog was coming from and why it didn’t just dissipate out sea. It took an excursion to the mainland before I discovered what was happening. During the excursion a friend took me to see the sights of Shenzhen. While riding in the backseat with my partner, I could not our driver navigating the streets. I mentioned the smog and rotten odors, and asked my friend if he was concerned. To my surprise he proudly answered, “That is the smell of money.” Factories lined the road belching black smoke from coal burning furnaces and since the winds have no boundaries, the foul air was drifting over Hong Kong.
2003 - The Sky was blue 2012 - What a change!
2013 - Coats needed in the Bird Market
China’s economy has certainly improved, but at a tremendous cost to human health. There used to be hundreds of bicycles scurrying everywhere. These have since been replaced by automobiles and busses discharging black exhaust. The country is plagued with rising costs of treating people with asthma and lung disease.
I was horrified. How shortsighted I thought. They are crowding local hospitals with asthmatics and those suffering from lung cancer. I was happy to return home where the air is clear most of the time—or at least it used be. Knowing that there are certain days when we are warned to stay inside, I decided to investigate Portland’s air quality and discovered that our city is among among the worst polluted in the country. On hazy summer days, you can see toxic substances floating in the air and in some neighborhoods you can smell them through the year.
I was surprised and wondered where our protectors were. How do we clean up our nest so we are not drinking foul water and breathing polluted air? Who is concerned with my family’s health? I don’t have the luxury of being able to escape to a house in the mountains or beach.
This is why I became upset when the heart was taken out of the EPA, one of the few government agencies set up to help. Because of their work, over the past 50 years, automobile emissions standards have greatly improved. Since the Clean Air Act, carbon monoxide is no longer a problem. And, by removing lead from gasoline, lead pollution has decreased with the exception of those cities where there are still large lead-emitting industrial facilities.
EPA recently reported improvements in air quality but added that pollution remains unhealthy in a great many areas of the country. They warn that bad air can cause premature death, asthma, harmful effects on the cardiovascular system, and have an increased likelihood of heart attacks and strokes. Health Magazine confirms that, “Fine particles emitted by vehicles (especially diesel-powered ones), coal-fired power plants, and burning wood can penetrate deep into the lungs, while car exhaust, heat, and sunlight contribute to high ozone levels.” When I drive around town I no longer open the window on nice days because as automobiles crowd the streets the air from their exhaust bothers me.
Just as in China, our economy is positively affected when controls are enacted. Air pollution caused by energy production cost $175 billion in 2002 but that number decreased to $131 billion in damages in 2011. These numbers demonstrate that healthcare costs can come down if proper safeguards are enacted.
During the Obama years we were all protected by more stringent standards. I cry now that they are being reversed. The American Lung Association says that more than half the people in the U.S. breathe air that is dirty enough to cause health problems. I knew that cities like Long Beach, California and Denver, Colorado were at the top of the list but had no idea that areas I always thought of as pristine like Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, are also at risk. You and I are at risk for nationwide pollution is carried on the winds to affect us all.
Are you prepared to just sit back and not cry out? Do you want coal powered plants operating in your city? any city? Would you send your son down into a mine to work? Would you live in a city where, because of fracking, fire comes out of the kitchen faucet instead of water? I bet you do care about the air your children and grandchildren breathe and the water they drink.
As far as I am concerned there isn’t enough money in the whole world to make up for the health ravages that will be caused by increased pollution. Sorry coal miners, and oil frackers, but these are changing times and you need to take the responsibility to get retrained to work in clean energy industries. Let’s not allow the economic concern of a few to take away the health of a nation. Let’s ensure that there are birds around to sing us awake each morning.
References:
Qin, Kenneth, Audubon Audublog, 2015, Birds suffer from air pollution, just like we do. http://ca.audubon.org/news/birds-suffer-air-pollution-just-we-do
Koberstein, Paul, Study: Portland Air among worst in nation, March 2, 2016 Koin 6. http://koin.com/2016/03/02/study-portland-air-among-worst-in-nation/
EPA, Clean Air Act OVerview, 2017https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges%20
10 Peoples, Lynne, U.S. Cities with the Worst Air Pollution , Health, 2017 http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20490855,00.html
Harvery, Chelsea, Jan. 29, 2016, The Staggering economic cost of air pollution, Washington Post,
