philyoung531@mac.com – Your Peak Potential

Secret success strategy #2 Core values

philyoung531@mac.com — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 13:35:56 +0000

Secret Success Strategy #2 – Uncovering your core values.

In secret success strategy #1 we looked at

What is your goal or resolution and what is your WHY? What is your connection to that goal?
How do your goals relate to a wider vision or dream or fears?
What are the impacts of achieving or missing the goal?
How important is your goal? Is it the right one for you

We also looked at decisions – what an OPTIMAL decision is and also SUB OPTIMAL .

Lastly we looked at writing down your goals, vision and fears or creating a vision board.

Click here for a reminder…..

Let’s talk core values

Do you have clarity around what your core values are? If not you are not alone.

Think of your core values as the foundations to your choices and life. When we are clear on our values, we are more likely to make optimal decisions. Your ability to achieve your goals /vision is directly related to whether you make decisions that align with your core values.

When our lives are guided by our core values we feel happy, fulfilled and a deep sense of connection to yourself and others. If your actions are in conflict with them you will likely feel tension, guilt, shame, dissatisfaction even depression.

Binning the Booze

I re-visited this exercise 2 years ago when I wanted to stop drinking. Now a glass of wine every now and then may not be a problem but for me personally, it was not moving me towards my vision.

But I found it hard. I was using a glass of red to deal with stress in my day job. Gaining clarity on my core values, and the values of a successful health coach helped me stop reaching for a glass of red and use the tools I know to manage my stress. This has been instrumental in me developing the business further but also as a side achievement was key to me completing my first ultra last year.

5 steps to identify your core values

Step 1

Take a look at the list of possible values and tick any that feel important to you, go with your instinct you can refine the list later. There may be others that are not on this list that you want to add. Don’t add ones that you think you should have or want to have, just ones that feel important or true to you.

Step 2

Think about people or situations that annoy, offend or anger you. Think about co-workers, movie or tv stars, news stories, public figures or even family. Situations might be things that happen when you are driving or waiting in a queue. Think about which of your core values was compromised in this situation. Make a note of these.

Often things that we find annoying will highlight the values we are most likely to violate ourselves. Consider your own actions here and how things you do may compromise your values.

Step 3

Consider people you admire (dead / alive/ famous or those you know) and what values you admire in them. Write those down.

Step 4

Refine your original list in the light of the information you have gathered. Maybe pick 10 key ones – you may have others, but these are the most important for now.

Step 5

Consider how these relate to your vision and goal, how you have compromised on these and how that has moved you away from your goal. Consider how working with your values can help you shape your decisions.

Vision board and mantra

Remember that visual representation of your vision and goals? Whether a collage of images or simply writing them down. Add your key values into this. Keep it somewhere you will see it everyday. Use it to reflect and review after good days and after those that don’t go so well.

Saying your vision and goal out loud and to yourself daily will help create momentum. I will show you how to create a compelling version next week.

This is really important for working with these tools in the mid and long term to create consistency. Edgar Dale’s cone of learning states after 2 weeks we remember only 10% of what we read but 70% of what we SAY and WRITE.

We will explore more detail on goal setting and more tactics to help integrate your values into day to day life. e will also look at how to enjoy the process as much as the achievement of your goal.

Need help with setting goals or motivation and goal achievement ?

Drop us a line to see how we can help you succeed in 2020.

How to strengthen your feet for running

philyoung531@mac.com — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 17:06:03 +0000

You may go to the gym to strengthen your chest, back, legs or core, but how do you strengthen your feet?

In just one foot, you have 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments.

When you walk or run, every one of these structures plays a vital role. Most foot injuries are not only a result of dysfunction at the foot but are related to imbalance and weakness further up the kinetic chain. Injuries occur when the foot has to work too hard to compensate because the neuromuscular signals from the brain have been dulled or have lost their connection.

Your feet spend in an average week approximately 40 hours in a pair of shoes or boots, unable to move properly or breathe all day and then you expect them to hold you up when you get home, when you walk, run or play sports.

Feet are pretty durable little beasties, but they will eventually begin to break down, hurt and even deform if you don’t give them a chance to work properly with the rest of your body.

Your feet are your body’s foundation and it’s suspension, they act as both shock absorbers and rigid levers to help propel you when walking and running. Losing awareness of your feet leads to poor movement patterns, poor posture and inevitably pain somewhere in the kinetic chain.

The pain may not be in the feet themselves but appear in the knees, hips or even lower back but eventually at some point the pain will hit home, right at your feet no pun intended.

Runners need foot strength and propriception for performance and effeciency, but the average person needs exactly the same in day to day life. Taking away the role of your foot’s intrinsic muscles leads to over activity of your hip muscles, more pressure on your back and overall worse posture and balance leading to injury or precious time off work or from our sports or outdoor hobbies.

Your awareness of where you are in space largely comes from the feedback your brain gets from your feet, if you dampen that system by wearing confining or cushioned footware you will be doing your posture and your feet a dis-service.

“Our feet have already served us rather well for the last few million years”

The foot is the most successful architectural structure known to man, it is a complex network of bones, ligaments and muscles that create a strong arch. No architect or structural engineer worth their salt would ever put a support directly under an arch, as they are strongest when loaded from the top so why do we feel the need to do so.

Natural Motions of the Feet

Toes are designed to have as much dexterity as fingers. Each toe joint can flex and extend, abduct and adduct.
These are all primal basic motions, but if you try it yourself, you will likely find that lifting one toe without the others is extremely difficult!

Check these feet!!!

You’ll either going to say disgusting or you’re like me be completely fascinated.
These are the feet of an Ashaninka Indian who lives in a rainforest in the upper Amazon Basin of Peru.

His feet look like this because he doesn’t wear shoes! He walks all over the treacherous rainforest in bare feet all the time.
This is what most people’s feet should look like; hard, tough, BIG, ugly, muscular. But our feet are soft, weak.
If I gave this guy a 6cm massage ball he could quite comfortably stand on the ball without wincing, try it all your body weight on one foot in the centre of your foot and balance on the ball, if you can, well done.

This is one of the reasons why so many people get so many injuries and continually have physical pains and aches, (not the ball balancing) their foundations are weak so the rest of the structure (their body) has to take on more stress than it’s designed too.

It’s never too late to train your proprioceptive system

Movement in general is a set of skills that we acquire through trial and error from our infant development patterns and then practice throughout our life. Walking and running are fundamental movement skills that we develop from a young age, but the most important thing that most people don’t understand is that just because you can walk and run, doesn’t mean you are doing it very well. The most important tools our bodies have that gives us the unique ability to balance, walk and run upright, is our feet.

Yet we love covering them up with heavy, clunky, cushioned footwear most of our life that will almost guarantee that we walk and run poorly and inevitably develop pain and deformity in not only our feet, but other parts of the body.

You need to walk before you can run and stand before you can walk. What you choose to put on your feet will affect all three of these skills. We are by no means saying go to work barefoot but encourage you to spend more time barefoot at home or in minimalist shoes (zero drop, no heal or minimum cushioning). We love VIVOBAREFOOT shoes and trainers but there are many more appearing on the market.

So what can we do:

Take our shoes off, often and start trying to move our feet and toes in every imaginable way, have some fun with them.

Wear a variety of different types of shoes throughout the week to keep your feet adaptable and consider buying a pair of minimalist shoes for walking and give your feet the chance to flex around.

Have a closer look at your posture because how you hold yourself in the mid back area will very much effect how you load weight on your feet.

Gradual progression is key for your body to learn
Trusting the process…. it’s much easier to say than to practically follow through, but it’s essential to your long-term development and progression.

Too often we want the results far too quickly and give up on the process before we’ve given it enough time to even know if it was going to work. It takes time to create lasting bio-mechanical movement changes for your body. Equally, it takes time to build neuromuscular control when learning new movements and skills required for walking and running.

Still not sure, why not join us on one of our Intelligent Movement Workshops or join a ChiRunning workshop.

Photo Credit Frans Lanting – National geographic

Feeling Chi by Karen Allisons

philyoung531@mac.com — Sat, 04 May 2019 15:22:48 +0000

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I attended the Bury ChiRunning Build the foundations workshop on Saturday 30th March 2019.

I’ve ran pretty much most of my life but always suffered on and off with knee and hip issues as I increased the miles and speed, searching for answers to resolve these issues by seeing physios, podiatrist for orthotics, massages the list goes on.

My running has been very sporadic of late with injuries stopping me on the way.

“It really made me believe for the first time that I can run without pain and injuries and enjoy the sport I love so much.”

My last half marathon, I pushed to get a sub 1.45 finish which I achieved but it also finished me off and for various reasons I’ve not ran for a year now.

I started back running in January 2019 but felt a bit lost with it all and wanted to do things differently, be more mindful listen to my body (never done this one) no headphones.

I then got an email from another website regarding the Chi running workshop it felt just perfect.

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I can’t begin to express how much that day changed my way of thinking about my running Julie and Phil run so effortlessly its fascinating to watch.

It really made me believe for the first time that I can run without pain and injuries and enjoy the sport I love so much.

The video feedback was so informative and really highlighted why I was having certain issues, I was bouncing a lot when I ran and I also lean back a bit!

My cadence has always been 180/190 and Phil highlighted to me that this was potentially too fast and I should aim to be around the 170/180 we practiced at 174 in the workshop.

“The ChiRunning Build the foundations workshop has set me on the path to returning to running with a whole different outlook on what I want to achieve”

It was worth doing the workshop just for all this information but there was a whole lot more learnt on the day, Posture & Alignment, breathing, running positions, where to position your arms, running up hill & downhill technique’s, stretches with Julie specifically for runners towards the end and so much more…

The ChiRunning Build the foundations workshop has set me on the path to returning to running with a whole different outlook on what I want to achieve.

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Cathy Woods conquers manchester marathon with ChiRunning

philyoung531@mac.com — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 20:59:58 +0000

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My ChiRunning adventure began about 2 and a half years ago with my decision to run a marathon.

I was already at a level where I had run several half marathons, however, I had a chronic nagging pain in my hip and down the side of one knee. As soon as I experimented with increasing my mileage it became clear that I wasn’t going to cope with the distance. I looked around for Plan B, which appeared as a Facebook advert for ChiRunning. I bought the book and then the Marathon book. I followed the plan. Strange things started to happen. My plantar fascitis (that I’d had for all of my 5 running years) stopped, I stopped wearing my orthotics, then reduced the support of my trainers, then ran in minimalist shoes.

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Last year I ran my first marathon – Wrecsam Marathon.

Unfortunately, something wasn’t quiet right as I injured a tendon on my foot on my last long long run before the race and for a while thought I wouldn’t be able to run it. I had to return to my support trainers until I healed. I decided to get some help and to do a couple of basic Build the Foundations ChiRunning workshops.

“My measure of a good workshop, whether for work or play, is that if I can take two things away from it that I remember and that change the way I do things for the better, then it has been worth the money. I took four things away from Phil’s workshop”

Shortly afterwards I did a workshop with Gray in London. It was a revelation. The biggest thing that I got out of the workshop (and it was a big thing) was that I had been trying too hard (I think the books encourage this).

I went back to basics, improved my form, started running with my mouth shut, got back to my minimalist running shoes and really began to enjoy running again.

More recently I attended another Basics workshop, this time in Bury with Phil.

We had our video observations first so Phil could see our current running form. This was very useful. It showed that I was doing a little twist with my right foot when I lifted it, probably due to a weakness in my right side. I have hopefully corrected this now. Following the workshop, I have also made a slight adjustment in my running cadence and this has been helpful too.

Back to the nasal breathing. I had slipped with this. Unfortunately, in Prestatyn in winter the wind is strong, it comes off the sea and is spikey and full of salt. It makes my eyes and nose run. I find it mostly impossible to nasal breathe.

In Bury, even on a slightly snowy afternoon the air was soft. I was encouraged enough to nasal breath as much as I could when I got home, enough anyway for me to work out that my nasal/aerobic running pace was about the same as my aerobic pace on my Garmin. This is a lovely pace to run at and after the workshop I have run at least 80% of my runs at this pace, my true aerobic pace and I’m getting faster. Finally – arms and shoulders. The workshop helped me to relax my shoulders better, although I still need to practice this – it’s a journey not a destination!

My measure of a good workshop, whether for work or play, is that if I can take two things away from it that I remember and that change the way I do things for the better, then it has been worth the money. I took four things away from Phil’s workshop – Correct foot alignment, running at my true aerobic pace, breathing nasally when I can, Cadence and the way I move my arms. It was definitely worth the money!

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Fast forward a few months and I have completed Manchester Marathon.

I achieved my goal for the marathon – to run without injury and accomplished my race strategy of running it at my aerobic pace.

I enjoyed it!

There are a couple of things I need to work on – keeping my cadence up after 10 miles or so and relaxing my shoulders/keeping my elbows in– so I’ll be looking for an advanced ChiRunning workshop to do before my next marathon.

The adventure continues!

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Running Resolutions for 2019

philyoung531@mac.com — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 16:11:10 +0000

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Running Resolutions You SHOULD Make for 2019

Here we are again, The Christmas festivities are a distant memory, another New Years Day gone and we are half way through January, resolutions to change habits, set new goals.
Runners are definitely no exception, in fact, we tend to thrive on setting big goals.

Stop comparing your running accomplishments and abilities to others.
Your running journey is yours alone. It is unique, it is amazing, and it shouldn’t be compared to others.
Gradual progress is key, run your run not anybody else’s.

Share your joy of running with someone else.
Offer to accompany a friend who really wants to start the Couch to 5K program but doesn’t know where to begin.
Get out there into the outdoors, it’s an amazing place, run, walk it doesn’t matter, take it all in and if you can get off the road and hit the trails. It’s a great stress reliever and you’ll feel a whole lot better when you get back trust me.

Thank your body for what it can accomplish, rather than shame it for what it can’t yet do…

It’s not “only” a 5K. It’s not “just” a twelve minute mile. Running is running, no matter how far or how fast, and running is an awesome accomplishment.
There are millions of people who don’t, or even more unfortunately, can’t run for fun. So thank your body for allowing you to enjoy this sport.

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BELIEVE that you are capable of that big, scary goal.
I completely understand this one because I’ve been there myself. It’s hard to look at someone else who seem’s more experienced, better prepared, faster, stronger and believe that you have any business toeing a start line in their company.
If you want something bad enough, if you train properly, rest properly, you are absolutely capable of achieving your goals.
Stop doubting yourself. Start believing in yourself. And while you’re at it…

Practice and appreciate rest…

Your body is such an incredible unique individual machine!

IT NEEDS REST…

Rest days and cutback weeks are such an integral part of a training program, yet they are something that our modern society has been conditioned to despise both in our personal lives and that of our hobbies.

There is such a misconception that doing more is better and downtime makes you weaker.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, millions of runners worldwide push to injury and wear it as a badge of honour and it isn’t.

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Listen to and respect your body’s needs…

Feel an ache in your hip that won’t go away?
Twinge in your plantar fascia that brings you to tears? STOP. Listen to your body.

Running is a lifetime sport, wether your a fun runner or a competitive tri athlete but only if you take care of your body.

The world won’t stop spinning if you have to take an unplanned rest day, but do you know what will stop your running? A stress fracture.

If your struggling to find your running mojo or just need a little help with getting closer to your training goals then your in the right place.

We offer Chi Running workshops, Holistic personal training, Yoga and much much more all delivered by CHEK and Chi Running Certified coaches who are ready to take you on your journey to whatever your goals may be for 2019 and beyond.

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Chi Running Foundation workshop insights by Sharon Hockenhall

philyoung531@mac.com — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 10:13:49 +0000

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Chi Running Foundation Workshop review

So I arrived at Your Parinama ready for my one day chi running foundation workshop.

After an informal meet and greet with everyone on the course the morning swung into action with a videoed group run to capture our existing running techniques.

It was great to do this alongside others as it definitely helped to negate some of the inevitable self-consciousness of being filmed.

“By slowing down the motion of running down to its biomechanical basics to a simple step, the movement of your hip, a shift in your balance and finding your centre of gravity was like turning on a little light switch”

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The importance of postural alignment and breathing

Phil and Gray took us back into the studio to concentrate on our postural alignment and breathing.

By slowing down the motion of running down to its biomechanical basics to a simple step, the movement of your hip, a shift in your balance and finding your centre of gravity was like turning on a little light switch.

This simple, conscious connection from the brain to the legs and hips really helped to understand my own running mechanics. I suppose it’s the difference between being told what to do (through tips we’ve picked up or read) and being shown what to do.

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After lunch we gathered, admittedly squeamishly, to watch the video playback and listen to the feedback.

This part of the workshop was particularly important to me as it helped to rule out any major style issues that could be contributing to a re-occuring injury I have.

One of my areas for improvement was in the arms and although not overly wayward there was room to reign them in to help with efficiency.

Watching and listening to the feedback for the other runners was also helpful to gain more of an insight into an efficient running form.

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The next exercise took us outside to put into practice all the postural alignment and breathing techniques we had been shown. Starting out very gently with a mix of walking and running while only breathing through our noses was new to me.

Running this way only allows you to take in a minimal breath and will keep you at an aerobic pace.

Again, for me, it was the difference of being told what to do and shown what to do.

Of course we have all ran with the aim of keeping to an easy pace but there is always the inevitability of not quite sticking to it.

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This strategy certainly keeps you in check. Initially I found it a little awkward, with no chatting (you have to keep your mouth shut) and a dripping nose (tissue in hand) which is a bi product of nasal breathing was a challenge but after the body had warmed up, a quiet rhythm developed and I seemed to get used to the idea.

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Before the session came to an end Phil and Gray added a couple more elements into the mix.

While keeping postural form and nasal breathing, an electronic metronome was set to help increase our cadence. We were asked to lean slightly forward from our ankles and we flew for that section of the run. For me the workshop has helped to refine my awareness of my running mechanics and has shown me how to layer a collection of simple strategies to make my run feel smoother.

For a few seconds I felt an ease of flow, a feeling I’d really like to experience again. I shall be keeping it up.

Thanks Phil & Gray for your insights.

Sharon Hockenhull – Chi Running Workshop Oct 2018

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Q & A with Phil from Your Parinama and Why More men should do Yoga!

philyoung531@mac.com — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 18:37:13 +0000

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Tell us a little about you?

I’m the creative side of Your Parinama, website design, posters, administration Oh and I’m the guinea pig, I have the honour of being put though hours of yoga positions before the workshops!! I work alongside Julie on the Yoga and Conditioning for Runners and I’m also a Chi Running coach.
Chi Running blends itself so well with yoga especially Hatha yoga.

Tell us a little about the Chi Running side of Your Parinama.

Chi Running helps people of all ages and levels discover an easier, more enjoyable approach to running, highlighting the importance of skill development and a mindful approach as the key to achieving success. We concentrate on form focuses and breathing techniques based on common-sense movement principles to enable runners to become more energy-efficient, reduce the risk of injury and improve performance.
Chi Running has an impact on both physical and mental health as well as improving running efficiency, it also boosts self confidence, increases mental focus and helps promote a lifetime of good health.

What style of yoga do you practice?

I practice Hatha yoga, and when I say practice, I’m like the little reluctant child that got dragged into doing it but then have a sudden realisation that I’ve not done any and find myself reverting back to my old ways.

Realising I felt better when I was doing it. Then I jump back in.

Julie is a constant, she never wavers in her consistency with the her yoga practice, I’m less consistent “ I know what’s right for me” and I struggle getting into that space doing it consistently, but it always draws me back.
We’re complete opposites in one way but we blend together a bit like Yin and Yang…

How has it changed your life?

I couldn’t say its changed my life, it’s added an extra piece that I think I was missing.

I’ve found that my bouldering and climbing has improved greatly especially flexibility and my ability to relax better, I’m not the greatest of people that can naturally chill out so it’s helping a lot.
Coupled with Chi Running which is my go to meditation, no head phones, I now listen to what my body is doing rather than the distraction of music. I do meditate but it gets really noisey in my head so I switch off on a run.

I’m by no means a yoga guru but the fact that the yoga journey is endless has transferred to other aspects of my life other than yoga. The physical and mental aspect of yoga acts as a metaphor for encountering difficulties in life; sometimes uncomfortable but even the most stubborn obstacles can be overcome with perseverance, mindfulness and generally thinking it’s not going to kill me!

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“I think there is a massive taboo around men doing yoga, not being macho and only for girls, done properly you’ll wake up thinking you have muscle aches in places you didn’t realise could ache”

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What is your most memorable yoga moment?

There are many incremental improvements but the moment that comes to mind is the first time I tried Hatha. I had probably done a handful of yoga classes up until that point at a local climbing wall and when I tried it with one of Julie’s yoga teachers, my world blew up. Complete game changer. I felt so high afterwards, also a bit broken. I found it hard to believe that anyone could tolerate that experience on a regular basis without being superhuman, I thought I was strong through climbing but this is another level!!!

What makes a great yoga teacher?

Someone who can balance kicking your ass and caring in equal parts. Knowing what you are capable of and wanting you to experience it. I’m slightly bias as Julie is my partner but she still kicks my ass on a regular basis but knows what I’m capable of. My goal was to be able to sit cross legged, but then she asked the question why and made me think yeah why? Now I have other goals!!!!

What is your favourite pose and why?

Downward Dog, it looks easy but getting the pose right is curiously difficult, I’m always at my happiest when I’m upside down mainly as my strength is hanging upside down like a monkey whilst bouldering.

What are you listening to?

I’m podcast mad at the moment with a very inspirational guy called Rich Roll he has lots of people on from different walks of life, that and of course music, love Radio Head and a little bit of Jazz.

What are you reading currently?

The November Project – it’s the true story of how two way outside-the-box fitness fanatics are flipping the fitness industry on its head and making the world a better place, one city at a time. No facility. No machines. Just two normal people and a tribe of thousands. What started 4 years ago as a month long workout pact between two former US North Eastern University oarsmen has grown into a national and worldwide fitness phenomenon. Not put it down yet!!!

When are you happiest?

When we slob on the sofa with the cat, drinking coffee (my nemesis), running as it’s now a more relaxed affair thanks to a gentleman call Grey Caws, being outdoors, we’re big walkers and love being out oh and getting into bed at the end of the day knowing I’ve made a difference to something or someone.

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What is your greatest fear?

Not living up to what I am capable of, I’m very concerned with what other people think and spend more time making them happy rather than me and but that’s something I’m working on currently, It’s not a negative but I do put others before me and it’s bit me on the arse a few times.

Should more men do yoga?

Yes definitely, for me I think more men should do it, to find out that they are more than what they currently believe they are. I think there is a massive taboo around yoga not being macho and only girls do it, done properly you’ll wake up thinking you have muscle aches in places you didn’t realise could ache, not every person that attends yoga is flexible from the start, thats the whole point of doing it, I will never be able to get myself into some ridiculous pose with my leg behind my head and why would I.

Tell us something we don’t know.

I gave up drinking in January 2018 for various reasons, being sober at parties can be fun!!!

So what does the future hold for you and Your Parinama?

I haven’t got a crystal ball, I can tell you this, what’s coming is exciting and the challenge of Your Parinama and Chi running is going to be hard work but I can say bring it on and watch this space!!!

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Alignment

philyoung531@mac.com — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 15:51:26 +0000

Alignment …..I talk about it all the time in class, we look at alignment in postures of all types and positions.

Why do I think it’s so important?

Good postural alignment means that your bones, joints, muscles and other connective tissues are all in correct relationship with each other. This minimises the strain on the body, reducing aches and pains in muscles and joints, reduces chance of injury and helps the body to work as efficiently as possible. The musculoskeletal system does not work in isolation from the rest of the body so good alignment will also have an impact on the other bodily systems like our organs.

When you leave class it’s easy to forget all about yoga and alignment until the next time.

Forget what can seem like complex cues that we go through. what can we do?

When we were young we used tricks tools and tactics to remember new things… I still remember
Never Eat Cake eat salad sandwiches and remain young (NECESSARY) so how about this one…

Let me know how you get on

Fred’s – Floor – ground body parts on floor, eg Feet – feel 4 corners on floor
Running – Rebound – feel the rebound from feet / tail to head
Had – Head – magic string from crown of head to sky
Long – Line straight line from ear, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle
Prevented – Pelvis – centred
Cramp – Core – draw in belly button, zip up

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