04 Jan, 2010
LGS Longevity Secrets & Peak Performance Techniques
Posted by: Angela Leeds In: Breathplay| Longevity| Peak Performance
Last Day for $20 Savings on my LGS Daily Recipe magazine…
The post below was originally published on my “LGS Longevity & Peak Performance” blog on April 20, 2009: Longevity & Peak Performance (Site Launch)
p
What kind of SuperHero could you be
NO MATTER YOUR AGE
Given the right conditions?
For about a year, now, I’ve been envisioning a site where I can discuss and share the various peak performance and rejuvenation/longevity methods I’ve been exploring over the past few years. I’m extremely excited about finally launching it, as I’m more into these topics than ever before, and there is so much material to explore!
When I was younger, as a track and field athlete - and later on fiddling with various yogas - I had natural speed and just ridiculous Gumby-like flexibility. But over the years, like most people, I lost most of that… especially during my six-year experience of being overweight and metabolically challenged. Even after I lost weight, I still could feel the residual aging that had occurred in my spine and connective tissue.
-
From Middle Age to… “Mature Super Hero”
Now, as a late-starting competitive ballroom dancer, I want to know… how much of that original flexibility, nerve reflex, and tissue vitality can I recover? I know that most people accept aging as natural and normal. But I challenge that.
Why shouldn’t we be able to improve with age, as our wisdom and understanding grow? Perhaps we simply have hardly begun to know what longevity secrets we could make use of to achieve this!
I wonder… what is really possible for someone to recover and achieve, with the right diet, mindset, and training methods?
I spent all last year exploring modalities of movement, alignment-correction, and training which I felt could accelerate me toward my goal. I worked regularly with practitioners of Meridian Stretching, Breathplay breathing techniques, Rolfing Structural Integration, and Gyrotonic, and found that magic was beginning to occur in my body.
I want to know… how deep down that rabbit hole of peak performance, rejuvenation, and longevity is it possible to go for a woman becoming an athlete in her 40s?
-
Dr. Robert Cassar
Elite Athletes Over 40
I’ll be seeking out stories of older elite athletes, both those who compete as well as those who do not.
One case that has inspired my curiosity is that of Dr. Robert, Cassar, a raw vegan/superfoodist who has found unprecedented physical fitness and vitality after the age of 50.
Dara Torres Stretching
Dara Torres, the now-famous 4-time Olympian who, at 41, is beating swimmers two decades her junior and still setting records, is another example.
Tim Van Orden, "Running Raw"
And Tim VanOrden is a raw vegan competitive runner.
-
-
-
-
Superfood, Super-Nutrition
A critical aspect of any program oriented toward longevity and peak performance is the use of various high-performance, super-nutrition “superfoods”. Although I’ll discuss those primarily on my LSG Superfoods site, soon to be launched, my concern on this site here is how specific nutritional approaches can help to repair and rejuvenate the body’s tissues and performance.
The utilization of raw & living foods, as well as superfoods, appears to be a common theme.
My impression is that the majority of world-class, Olympic-level athletes are not living a lifestyle oriented around raw, living and super foods. In which case, I suspect that the limits of human achievement in the realm of sports have not yet been really tested.
If elite athletes are generally powering up using protein powders, supplements, and pasta, I would expect that as the population acquires more understanding and appreciation of living & super-nutrition foods, the world will start to see a whole new breed of accomplished older athletes and younger super-athletes.
-
The Power of the Breath
I was first introduced to the breathing techniques in Ian Jackson’s book The Breathplay Approach to Whole Life Fitness last June, just prior to a ballroom dance competition.
Maja Servé Points the Way
Knowing that I’d been frustrated with stamina problems during competition, the world-class ballroom dance coach and judge Maja Servé suggested I seek out Jackson’s book.
From my current vantage point, I can now trace the origin of a whole series of changes in my life back to the moment I began my enthusiastic experimentation with the techniques in Jackson’s book, which I now regard as one of the Top Ten life-changing books I have ever read. I’m currently on my third read of the material.
“How To Breathe” is an exciting subject, although it tends to take people quite by surprise. After all… it’s about breathing, which each one of us does every single day, without giving it a second thought. Thing is… it seems that unexpected power lurks in the simplest of things we generally take for granted, such as Air, Water, and Food. And conscious use of the breath appears to tap into a source of power that may not be generally understood, but is quickly borne out by the results it demonstrates!
I’ve experimented with various breathing techniques since I was a teenager, usually in the context of yogic breathing, pranayama, and Kundalini yoga. But Jackson’s wonderful book is King of them all, to my mind… and as simply as it is written, the content has such breadth and depth I believe I could spend the rest of my life exploring the topic and still never get to the end of it.
Ian Jackson…
Master Coach
Ian Jackson is an extremely gifted coach of world-class cyclists, and the results that his athletes get are extraordinary.
I’ve heard rumors that his techniques were passed onto Lance Armstrong at some point early in his career, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they account for his domination of the cycling field.
In addition, I use Ian Jackson’s Acousti-Coaching CDs for my aerobic training, both on the road when I’m running and power-walking as well as at the gym on the bikes, treadmill, and elliptical. This set of CDs is great not just for athletes and anyone interested in health and fitness, but can also be used by those who are bed-ridden or incapable of rigorous exercise. In fact, the Breathplay techniques are currently being used by respiratory therapists to help strengthen and restore lung strength and capacity in paraplegics.
If I’m lucky, I may even be able to get Ian Jackson to contribute some discussion here. I also know that, although his book can be hard to come by (there are currently some affordable copies of Breathplay Approach to Whole Life Fitness
-
Meridian Stretching & Resistance Flexibility Training
All last year, from January into November, I trained weekly — at times, twice a week — with Meridian Stretch practitioner Susan Bianchi. Meridian Stretching and Resistance Flexibility Training is the “secret weapon” Dara Torres credits for getting her back to her 4th Olympics last summer, in better condition than ever before, and I credit it with helping me correct a number of problems in my body.
The technique can be done solo, but really comes into its full potential during “assisted stretching” with one or more stretch practitioners. To introduce the technique here, I’ve included a video of Dara Torres doing her Merdian Stretching as part of her training.
video management, video solution, video streaming
-
Gyrotonic
Gyrotonic is on the verge of taking over Pilates as the new favorite dance-training fitness method. I’ve done both, and have great things to say about Pilates, but with “Gyro”…it was love at first “stir” (a reference to the rotational “stirring” exercise incorporated into the basic Gyrotonic movement syllabus).
Of all the various fitness methods I’ve experimented with since I was a teen-ager, this is the first one that ever called to me to get certified in as a trainer. And it feels amazing. It wakes up the body as nothing I’ve yet tried.
Juliu Horvath was a ballet dancer who injured his spine and who created Gyrotonic as a way to restore himself back to health. Gyrotonic uses rotation to activate and lengthen the spine and muscles, and also places a strong emphasis on the use of the breath. I wasn’t surprised to discover that Horvath has a background in Kundalini yoga, which also places tremendous importance on the breath and the health of the spine through the use of repetive and often rotational movement.
As an intro to Gyro, I’ve included the video below, which shows it in action, using the most common piece of Gyrotonic equipment, “The Cobra”. You can see straight away the “stirring” rotational movement that the practitioners are using.
video management, video solution, video streaming-
Aerobic Yoga / Yoga Swings (used by Dr. Robert Cassar)
The next wave in yoga is going to be Aerobic Yoga… mark my words. There are numerous companies now that are making yoga swings, and I know of a woman who will shortly be the first to offer Aerobic Yoga in New Jersey.
I cannot wait to get one of these yoga swings set up in my home! I have an excellent inversion table, but it pales compared to the kind of movement, strength-training, and flexibility-training that is possible in a yoga swing!
To see it in action, as well a a video interview of Dr. Robert Cassar by nutrition guru David Wolfe, check out the video below. In my opinion, not to be missed… very thought-provoking for anyone who’s interested in the subjects of peak performance and longevity!
-
video management, video solution, video streaming-
So…these are just some of specific topics that will be explored here, all methods for restoring and expanding the body’s performance capabilities:
- Superfoods specifically for rejuvenation and peak performance,
- Breathplay breathing techniques for greater power and clarity of mind, Meridian Stretching for greater power and range of movement,
- Gyrotonic for greater aliveness and finer & more sensitive reflexes,
- And the use of a Yoga Swing for aerobic yoga practice.
I’ll profile various alignment & movement enhancing technologies, such as Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Ideokinesis, and Alexander Method.
-
The Inner Game - The Power of the Relationship Between
The Conscious & Subconscious Minds
In addition, I’m very much into the “Inner Game” — the way of using the conscious and subconscious mind to achieve extraordinary results. Whatever method or technology that has legitimate power to radically increase the youthfulness, vitality, and performance ability of the human body… organically… I want to know about it. I’d love your suggestions, responses, and input!
-
Let’s Realize the Super-Hero Vision:
=
To replace the experience of “Middle Age” into a time when wisdom prevails on every level - including with health & fitness.
Let’s create the age of…
-
“The Mature Super Hero”
Social Media