PREPARING MIND, BODY & SPIRIT FOR 2013- 2014 TENNIS SEASON

In addition to searching for new gear to get ready for season (see gear post here), getting the mind, body and spirit up to speed for the season is a good thing to do over the summer as well. I imagine we all have our ways of getting ourselves ready to compete, but I have engaged in a few activities that have been positively impacting my overall state of being.

Since I can’t say how much each is contributing to my well-being, I think I better talk about the different things I have been doing which I know have contributed, even if I can’t say just how much each has. 

Two of the activities that I know have contributed significantly is my Cranio-Sacral Therapy with MaJiC Noone (formerly MJ to those of you familiar with my relational history), and my horseback riding lessons with Wendy Hechler at Greystone Equestrian Center. Steph (for those familiar with my current relational status) has been doing both with me, and she sings the praises of MaJiC and Wendy as well.

You’re probably going, “Cranio WHAT?!!!” and “Horseback riding???” Well, yeah, I have been doing both and I can definitely feel both, and in positive ways.

Oh, and how could I forget; I have been making my way consistently to some very spiritual ground, namely, the golf course…but that’s a different blog altogether.

So what is that Cranio-whatchamacallit all about? Well, I would much rather you talked to MaJiC about that, because if you read about it you’ll see things like, “Craniosacral therapy (CST), or cranial-sacral therapy, is a form of bodywork or alternative therapy focused primarily on the concept of "primary respiration" and regulating the flow of cerebrospinal fluid by using therapeutic touch to manipulate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium”…and that’s just Wikipedia’s version!

I suspect you aren’t too interested in reading that sort of jargon, so I’ll just tell you that I lie on a table, fully 

dressed,while MaJiC uses her natural gift of… I’ll call it “energy frequency divination” along with her training as a nurse, Yoga instructor, and more to help you bring your native energy rhythms back in tune.

Is that any better than Wikipedia? Probably not, but the bottom line is that when I walk out of the session with MaJiC, and after having gone for about a month now, that whole mind-body-spirit thing is much better off than when I walked in…from the first time and each session since.

If you have any interest in alternative healing methods, I think you would truly benefit from a session with MaJiC.
Around about the same time Steph and I started therapy sessions with MaJiC, we also started taking horseback riding lessons with Wendy at Greystone Equestrian.

Horseback riding just sounds like a fun little outing, doesn’t it? Well, fun it is, but it is definitely work and a workout as well. Our last riding experience was two days ago, and my lower body is still feeling a little gelatinous. Steph keeps asking me if I feel it in my abs. I’m not, but she is. 

As much as I enjoy riding, learning about the proper preparation prior to riding and about the proper care of the animal and gear after riding has been a major bonus that I hadn’t gotten in my previous riding experiences. I figure in 

another few lessons we’ll be jumping some fences. We’ve got to get the hang of trotting and cantering first though, and by then, my legs should be in better shape to keep me on those 1200lb animals as they hurdle.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to enjoy the sense of well-being from our time with MaJiC, Wendy and the equines, and, of course, the golf course. I suspect when it’s time to prepare for competitive tennis again (September), my body, mind, and spirit will be in much better shape than they have been in some time! Game, set, match…T. A.