Heart Disease as a Water Quality Issue

Yes.  Heart disease clearly involves problems with our cardiovascular system and heart disease does involve atherosclerosis, plaque building up within our arteries, unstable clotting factors and years of poor choices (what we eat, how much we exercise, emotional outbursts, etc).  Freedman’s message implores us to make conscious choices with our emotions – first to know ourselves, know what we may be projecting, and to make a considered decision in each “now” moment to revise and modify our emotional messages.  We have six seconds to catch ourselves, reassess and decide differently.  More on this later, but for now – check this out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

To learn more about Freedman and the Six Seconds organization visit: www.6seconds.org.  The organization features programs for teachers, professionals, business organizations, leadership training with a broad array of assessment tools designed to help one understand their emotions better, recognize the importance of authenticity and how those emotions are projected amongst those we engage with, and finally, “how” to make a conscious choice as to what kind of emotional messages we aim to offer up – every six seconds.  Although the organization is a 501(c)3 it’s programs are not inexpensive.  In addition, they offer a large number of well-thought-out certification programs.  Check it out: 6Seconds.org.

Health & Sport Performance Associates

Alamo Placita Building

825 E. Speer Blvd – Suite 205

Denver, Colorado 80218

Located in the perfect Central Location – Right next door to the gorgeous gardens of Denver’s Alamo Placita Park and across the river from Hungarian Freedom Park in Denver’s loveliest neighborhood.

The office includes free parking, quick access from north or south.  The building is located between Clarkson and Emerson, Speer and 3rd Avenue and rests on the North Side of Cherry Creek easily accessible to the Cherry Creek Bike Path.

Stay tuned for our Open House where you can meet Dr. Walker, his colleagues and associates and learn about new offerings coming your way.

There is no doubt that great speakers and inspirational leaders have good skills at swaying public opinion – but the most powerful of movements, inventions, companies, and collectives revolve around innovations in thinking.  It is the “Why?” people gather together, are involved at the ‘tipping point’, and spur on great things.

What made the Wright Brother’s innovation in manned flight catch on?  There were others with more money, big laboratories filled with the latest equipment enabling legions of inventors and would-be aviators with the wherewithal.  Yet it was the owners of a simple bicycle shop that made it happen.  Apple computer has people standing around the block waiting for their latest release.  Why?

How is it Dr. Martin Luther King was able to speak to hundreds of thousands of people at the Washington Plaza?  Certainly Twitter did not get them there.  Neither did an email blast.  Sinek’s call to action is compelling and I for one will endeavor to emphasize the “Why” – going forward.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This presentation will astound you for two reasons; 1) because of the implications for education in general, and 2) for its sociological implications for self organized learning.  Mitra’s experiments have taken place in remote parts of Africa, Asia and in well funded educational centers in the UK.  All that is required is one computer for every four students, an internet connections and time.  In war torn environments where education is extremely limited and socio-political instability is prevalent – these self organized learning environments (SOLEs) provide hope for improving our world – one village at a time.  And when Grandma is supporting the endeavor the results are even better.  Thanks Professor Mitra.  To learn more about this research – articles have been published in the Journal of Educational Technology – and -  other educational publications.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Randy Pausch became famous because he was already a well-known and respected professor from Carnegie Mellon University, but also because he was so popular in his no nonsense, yet very convincing practices and philosophies.  He became a fixture in the Freshman orientations at CMU – and he enjoyed the role in mentoring bright minds.  When he became ill with Pancreatic Cancer, and his prognosis was labeled “terminal”….he shocked child psychologists by purposely choosing to withhold his diagnosis from his three young children.  He believed that “no good” could come from their knowing he was going to leave them, and he certainly did not want to have the daily reminders of how soon he was to die – and so – he lived his remaining life with passion, integrity and as much fun as he could cram into the remaining time he had.  As it turned out, he far exceeded the time frame his doctors prognosed and he captured the hearts and minds of millions of people by reminding US ALL – that “Our lives are not measured by the number of breaths that we take – but by the moments that take our breath away.”  Thanks Randy.

So this post is a tribute to a life well-lived and a man whose dedication to “service above self” reminds us how to make the most of each day.

Wall Street Review of Randy’s Life

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Randy Pausch’s lecture on time management

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The last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University

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10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

The Violinist was Joshua Bell

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story.

One of the most sought after musicians at music festivals in every major venue in the world, Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:  If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…..

How many other things are we missing?

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are a good number of discussion points that come from this demonstration and I will address a few of them as I begin to speak to the relationships amongst these elements (movement – music – and our learning potential) in the weeks ahead.

Stay Tuned in the Next Few Weeks

This posting was prompted by a recent read – the book -  Spark – The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by Dr. John Ratey (Harvard Neuropsychiatrist) with Eric Hagerman.  Ratey discusses the importance of exercise and demonstrates the wonders of cognitive development as its facilitated through exercise and his examples are beyond exciting.  Just his portrayal of the transformation of the Naperville Illinois school district is proof enough….but what follows is even more profound.  Those who have read The Protective Effects of Positive Emotions on this site have a head-start – but Ratey’s discussion of the stress response and why it is so damaging (becoming more so everyday) is the most elegant and coherent explanation of the process I’ve read.  In addition, the clarity of how exercise serves to minimize these deleterious effects is superb.  I look forward to sharing these things and more along with the implications for our happiness – perhaps even our survival.

Box of Dreams A poem by Charles Pfeil

I opened my little box of dreams today

Elated again for it never forgets

Treasuring my hopes, desires, imaginations

_

I pursue these dreams not in wild abandon

Rather with vision and purpose

To make myself and those around me better

_

Though each passing day reminds me of this short life

The glow in the box renews my heart

My dreams are alive and aspire to be real

Charles Pfeil is a photographer and poet from Boulder, Colorado.  An avid golfer, his work has been featured in Podium Sports Journal before as we shared his poem “The Golfer in You” last year.  His book, The Colors of My World is available at Arrowphotos.com and is a source of incredible photography from the world over.  His poetry is insightful, whimsical and full of spirit all at once.  It serves as a magical source for reflection, dream weaving and inspiration.  Thanks, Charles.

There are many features that make PETTLEP a fully functional aspect of mental conditioning especially for athletes of sports that require fine motor coordination (aka. gymnastics, diving, high jumpers, pole vaulters etc).  However, it should also be known that even endurance athletes can employ methods that reinforce the experience of “going with the flow” in the midst of the grind.

Sports may call for athlete specific applications – and – other sport psychologists are likely to interpret and coach PETTLEP in ways that may showcase certain strengths they have trained to use.  For example, an expert in Ericksonian hypnosis might employ a phrase in scripting metaphors that enhance kinesthetic experience that emotionally touches the athlete, thereby delivering a more potent emphasis.  Lets consider an example:

Yanda is a high jumper who has fallen into a slump.  She had a personal best jump at the end of her sophomore year.  She jumped 5’0″ in a great meet under perfect conditions.  She duplicated that performance twice in her junior year, but has been unable to improve upon it.  Now she is frustrated, unhappy with her performances and hungry for a breakthrough.  Her biggest test of the year was the State Meet.  We began meeting a few weeks out in preparation for that performance.  Up to that time, Yanda had reviewed her techniques with her coach, understood the importance of a pre-jump routine, but was confused about exactly what to do.  This had resulted in sporadic attempts at changing up the routine, a lack of consistency and continued frustration in experiencing performances where she felt she left a lot on the table.

It’s also important to note that when we first met to discuss her situation, Yanda was highly stressed.  This suggested that she was used to turning successes quickly and her jumping fell out of the norm for her.  I encouraged her first to take a broader view of her training…and that we were going to employ a number of skills she would be unfamiliar with, and, that she would need to practice them to develop competence.  Among these skills were some stress reduction techniques, breathing exercises and techniques she could employ at school, at home and in situations where she had no expectations at all.  I provided an overview of the PETTLEP method and recorded a couple of simple audio files (for an Ipod) she could listen to and review at different times – especially down time.

The key, however, involved developing the game plan with her coach.  We got VERY PRECISE with the pre-jump routine using PETTLEP, and we went over it multiple times until she felt both comfortable with the process and could repeat it with precision.  By now you probably realize that her coach’s participation was very helpful, and that Yanda was motivated enough to practice at odd times and employ skills she learned to enjoy.  A certain synergy was developing for her, and she began to become more engaged, fully involved in the creative process, and finally – she began tuning her focus to the “process goals” in improving individual components to her jumping technique – physical sensations in her experience of focusing on the “process”.  She then decided that the methods were worth the experience and that the “outcome goals” would take care of themselves.

This was not a small piece – for she completely embraced her focus in the “NOW” moment.  This was critical because it enabled her to focus on aspects of her sport “only she could control.”  That alone eliminated many distractions for her (both external and internal) that had held her back, limited her focus, and caused  her to be more concerned with her frustrations than the jumping itself.

Employing PETTLEP:

Physical – Most of Yanda’s PETTLEP practice occurred on the track, in her cleats, outside the jump itself.  Even when she was employing techniques in other settings her physical actions included ‘dancing’, springing when she walked, skipping, closing her eyes and jumping to experience the feel of the spring in her legs….anything that reminded her of the feel she wanted to have – “when gathering before the plant” – and – “feeling the spring from her plant to elevating”.  These terms were ones she was familiar with and part of her training.  By making the “sensations” fun, part of everyday life, and something she could do outside of practice.

Environment – Because of Yanda’s sport, she could incorporate images of her jumping anytime she was outside.  She’d feel the wind and measure how she’d adjust to the conditions.  She wore her running shoes all the time – and even though they weren’t her cleats – she could “feel” the sensations, spring, and practice her footwork – inside, outside, in the gym, at home….again the precision to the approach shifts with the height of the bar, and the jumper’s adjustments to their approach, steps, gather and plant are adjusted accordingly.

Task – Yanda’s tasks involved breaking down the component parts of her jump, pre-jump routine, and PETTLEP imagery before every jump.  Her pre-jump routine became a consistent repeat of each of the following: 1) Find your spot   2) Jump up and down – “feel” the spring   3) See your steps, especially the first one – all the way through to the gather & plant (adjusted for the height of the bar)  4)  Feel the run up, feel the steps, feel the gather, the plant, her hips “up” in the leap   5)  Focused quickly on her “Resource Spot” (See Brainspotting)   6) Go

Timing – Yanda practiced with a stop watch to make sure she was able to execute her pre-jump routine & PETTLEP jump – in approximately the same amount of time it would take in a real meet.  These things were measured and discussed with reasonable detail.

Learning – As Yanda became proficient in the process, she began to notice details about her jump that had previously been unavailable to her (remember distractions).  She became more focused on learning from each jump – and in preliminary competitions she made a game of performing efficiently with the fewest number of jumps necessary to win.  This enabled her to concentrate on bettering her PR.  Also, it should be noted that Yanda did the long jump, triple jump, and ran anchor on the 4X100 relay.

Emotions – Yanda even developed an appreciation for the “sensations” of feeling the finish in the pit – enjoying the flop, the pad, the roll, every detail including the emotional release that came with each successful jump.  She began to really appreciate the “JOY” of jumping again.  She knew she was doing the right things – she felt it every time she jumped.

Perspective – Yanda did other things to help with the PETTLEP process.  She began shooting video of practice sessions so she could look at herself from multiple perspectives.  This turned out to be a useful tool in that there were technique flaws she was able to “feel” while she watched….ultimately correcting them.  Her pre-jump routine though, employed PETTLEP from her perspective in approaching the jump.

Yanda was able to perform well in her State Meet breaking her own PR twice in the process, setting a new school record, and improving upon her previous best during the season by a full 4″.  Ironically, when Yanda stepped up to the bar for her last jump – she realized that the bar was taller than she was (not an image we had planned in her visualization process.)  That was the first time she felt a doubt entering her mind during the competition – and one that we will incorporate into her PETTLEP training going forward.