Sylvia Noviana - Health & Wellness

Lots of stuff. I love movement.

🦵🏾 12,000-20,000 steps per day (atm)
🏋‍♀️ Strength training
🤸‍♀️ Crossfit
💃 Dancing
⛸️ Something different 1x per week such as ice-skating (next up, javelin training)

I don't see training/physical activity as a chore. I see it as a way to connect to my body in various ways.

(Olympic lifts are a work in progress)

We spend so much energy trying to plan, control, and future-proof our lives that we forget presence is its own kind of medicine. Health isn't only what you eat or how you train, it's also how often you give yourself into the moment you're actually in.

Make space for the small creative, spontaneous things that don't need a purpose. If you are going through a s**t time, remember "this too shall pass."

Que será será (a song my mum used to sing to me, and now I sing to my petals) 💕

Back that ass up. And by back, I mean support 🫠
How does one support oneself you ask?

S T R E N G T H
T R A I N I N G

🔊 Pop ye sound on for an inspirational workout jam by Ice Cube

Just dance or do other stuff that makes you feel alive.

Being "busy" is often a humble brag which can signal scarcity and demand, ambition and drive. You MAKE time for the stuff that is important to you.

I catch myself saying the "B" word sometimes too, but I pack plenty of fun and relaxation into my week, so I strike a pretty solid balance of everything.

I don't usually jump on trends, but me likey this song and dance. Guess that makes me a couple other B words today too 😅

Used this dance as our warm-up for Lava crew training this week and rather enjoyed it.

new song

Having a whale of a time over on the Great Barrier Reef, Straya. Did one week on a dive liveaboard and also got to snorkel with these ethereal dwarf minke whales for over 3 hours. Don't let the name fool you, they are anything but small.

There were four of them. Two were super curious and kept coming closer and closer. We had eye to eye contact on a few occasions and it was STUNNING!

There was a large 4m+ bull shark swimming below us at some point, which certainly made us feel uncomfortable, even though we LOVE sharks. Despite diving with many bull sharks in Fiji that are conditioned to humans, snorkelling on the surface of the deep blue with an unknown shark undoubtedly made us weary. But then the presence of the minkes beat any feelings of apprehension.

More on the dives later.

The rat's reputation is one of the great injustices in the animal kingdom. Almost everything we "know" about them turns out to be either wrong or wildly exaggerated. They are incredibly intelligent, deeply affectionate, meticulously clean and very social.

Our girls have further enriched our lives with their sweetness. They are gentle souls who love a good, wee snuggle. It is rather enthralling to watch them explore and be totally lost in the present moment with them.

A friend who'd previously wrinkled her nose at the very mention of rats came over, took one look, and melted. One cuddle later and the self-proclaimed rat hater was completely won over.

How often do we do this with our health too? Write something off before we've really tried it. Resist what might actually help us. Stay stuck in a story we've been told or that we've been telling ourselves.

Open your heart, open your mind. Whether that's to a tiny whiskered friend or to a new way of feeling better in your body. ❤️🐁

Who else loves massages? I don't offer them anymore, but my four ratties and two dogs still get the full treatment. I do daily self-massage with various pieces of equipment and try to get regular massages from a professional therapist.

Beyond the countless benefits, more than anything, I love how it changes my perception of pain/tension and makes me feel rejuvenated after.

Do you have a daily practice of something that makes you feel relaxed? If not, what could you realistically incorporate into your life?

❤️

Oestrogen is one of the body's most powerful anti-inflammatory regulators. When oestreogen drops and fluctuates during perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, it can increase the risk of getting a frozen shoulder.

Why the shoulder? The glenohumeral joint speficially has the largest range of motion of any joint in the body. This mean it relies heavily on soft tissue for stability. ⚖️

The shoulder has poor blood supply to parts of the rotator cuff and capsule compared to other joints, meaning inflammation resolves more slowly there.

What can you do?
• Release through soft tissue work and heat
• Mobilise to restore joint mechanics
• Stabilise to keep it secure, controlled and properly aligned during movement
• Strengthen to build muscle mass and bone density

Change might be coming, but so is your most powerful self, if you believe it is.

"My neck, my back" are two of the most common complaints. Are you releasing, mobilising, stabilising and strengthening them?

Oh, and 🔊 on for on-the-nose commentary.