How Positive Learning and Community Motivate Change

Appreciating Positive Change, Learning and Community 

Finding meaning in your work, creating your art and gathering knowledge are pursuits that transform personal well-being, businesses, and society a like. The movement forward requires imagining possibilities, perseverance, and hope of a bright future. There is learning, sharing of this knowledge, and mindful awareness of each step on your journey to realize your dreams. This requires bringing your strengths to the table; the best version of you and what you provide to your tribe, community, or workplace.

There is a process of motivating change called Appreciative Inquiry(AI). The focus of AI is targeted learning from a positive frame to accelerate the behavior-change process. This process can be applied to individual or group settings.

Principles of Appreciative Inquiry

There is a underlying question as you move through the AI change process. This question is, "How do I get that?"

• Choose the Positive as the Focus of Inquiry
• Inquire into Positive Moments
• Share the Stories
• Create Shared Images of the Future
• Innovate and Improvise to Create that Future

Personal Learning Journey

http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/10/what-do-i-want-to-learn-about-learning/

It was 10 years ago that creating a personal learning environment  became an idea. Around this time I was introduced to expanding my physical therapy practice to include wellness and coaching. The book that set this in motion was written by +Lynn Grodzki, Building Your Ideal Private Practice: A Guide for Therapists and Other Healing Professionals (2000). In this book was content that opened my eyes to delivering information and service to my clients, further defining how I do my work, and continuing to find my niche. 

The Journey always begins with now, an attention to the present moment. Awaking to the positive images, details and richness of what is right before us; mindful and aware.

"Our standards change when we are infected with a new awareness." 

 +Ryan Nicodemus (www.theminimalists.com)

A mindful awareness of the present gives positive movement on the journey. This rewards us with health and well-being, creativity and meaning in our actions.

Mindfulness has continued to be a personal learning influence first inspired by the readings of Jon Kabat-Zinn(Full Catastrophe Living) and Saki Santorelli(Heal Thy Self). These books, initially just foot-noted resources in the Building Your Ideal Private Practice, would not have been discovered without some openness to learning and attention to the small print.

Through my work as a physical therapist, learning resources, and exposure to social influences, I have continued to build on this personal learning environment, and my journey to now.

The Future: Always Forward, Never Straight

It is now thirteen years later. The social media networks and platforms that are available for learning, sharing and networking with others, has expanded my personal learning environment, and the possibilities of what the future may(will) bring. Being exposed to and taking part in the +Google+ movement of content curation, social sharing and communities, learning opportunities and business networking, is a shift in learning and a new way of doing business. I am constantly inspired by the stories of those on their own journey, and the kindling of my own. 

+Robin Good (masternewmedia) is a wealth of knowledge in content curation, as seen by following this link to his scoop.it page.

He makes an excellent scoop of Ben Bett's content on  Framework for Using Content Curation in a Learning Organization.

These insights include:

Inspiration through curating community feedback and insights.

Aggregation of curated resources are better than courses.

Integration, or Personal Knowledge Management(PKM), for curation and critical thought as a core to the teaching and learning processes. 

Application of curation as a personal "learning locker".

See the Personal Knowledge Management White Paper, by +Harold Jarche  at:http://www.jarche.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/PKM-2013.pdf

The PKM framework elaborates on capturing knowledge by using:

Seek > Sense > Share

• Seeking to find things out and keeping up to date.

• Sensing is how we personalize information and use it.

• Sharing includes exchanging and collaborating within our networks and colleagues. 

The social platform of Google Plus, Scoop.it has enabled the sharing of daily learning and thought provoking experiences in communities and the social stream. Finding purpose and making sense of the information is the creative challenge.

Fitness and Nutrition

Because Fitness is not a Coincidence

Fitness & Nutrition Community

+Ryan Hanley
Providing valuable content with his +Content Warfare podcasts. I recommend listening to his podcast with +Dino Dogan on Human Engine Optimization.

+Neila Rey 
Providing valuable content and inspiring infographics with tips on health, fitness and personal challenges.

+Plus Your Life! 
+martin shervington has been a valuable resource for learning all things Google, and his quotations provide a dose of motivation, inspiration and thought.

When we anticipate the future with positivity we become more creative, resilient and resourceful. This is strengthened with a positive vision that is proleptic.

These communities and individuals provide social engagement with positive questions and reflections that can be re-purposed in your business, health or lifestyle pursuits. 

'Words do not create worlds 

unless they are shared with others.'

There is a positive shift in conversations and interactions that allows participants to flourish. The moment that you ask a positive question, share a positive story, or share a positive reflection their is the possibility of change in the world that you live. Positive relations and engagement are vital to the well-being and quality of life.

Circle of Giving: Why Give Away Your Expertise? from +Mark Traphagen 

There is a positive change that when you create or design content and share this knowledge, perpetuating the circle of giving.

In the words of Jim Rohn,

"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by Change"

The possibilities and seeds of change are everywhere. Magnificent work that strengthens the resolve to do better business, take better care of your health and nutrition, provide motivation and inspiration are all at your finger tips.

Positive energy and emotions lead to positive actions and outcomes. We can not do this alone. Through these interactions and conversations there are stories and frameworks developed. In the words of Zander and Zander,

"We might as well invent a story or framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us."

Whether you are listening to the health of your body, business, or life in general, positive change can take place if there is a focus on strengths. Inherent in all of us is the strength that exists in some aspect of our life; a best version of what there is to offer, shared in the form of expertise, action toward a bright future, and well-being, as an individual and as a member in a thriving community. 

I would appreciate any feedback that you may have regarding Appreciative Inquiry, Personal Knowledge Management, Personal Learning Environment, and how you use content to learn, share and expand your pursuits in business, health and wellness.

What do you want to change?

How will you get there?

Game Plan for Youth Athlete Success

A Game Plan for Success in the Youth Athlete

Success is No Accident

The Youth Athlete is experiencing rates of injury at greater proportions. These injuries can be life threatening, such as head trauma that occurs in concussion. Injuries can involve ligaments, muscles and bones sustained as a result of sudden or repetitive trauma. The fact is that many of these injuries can be avoided with proper education and design of performance enhancing training programs. The goal of the Game Plan for Success program is the health and well-being of the young athlete in sports, and through adulthood.

Proprioceptive Training

There is a growing demand for the young athlete to play in sports year round, participating in school and club sports, often specializing in one sport before entering high school. The result is an athlete that has not developed athleticism, and is only exposed to consistent movement patterns and experiences. 

As a practicing physical therapist with over 25 years of experience training athletes of all ages and abilities, I have seen far too many young athletes suffer an injury that has sidelined there participation in sports for a season, and a career. There are two primary causes to this growing rate of youth injuries:

Overexposure to injury due to increased practice and competition.
I have had discussions with soccer athletes returning from college, and when asked if they are playing more soccer in college or high school/club, the answer is always high school/club. Too many contacts through out year round play in games and practice, combined with limited rest and recovery, a there will be an increased frequency of injury.

Lack of specific and individualized training progression.
Designing a sport-specific training program requires careful consideration of individual abilities, musculoskeletal development and the demands of the season. Many injuries are directly related to poor training program design. A sports performance training program must include core components:

• Reduce the risk and prevention of injury strategies
• Neuromuscular and Proprioceptive training 
• Health and well-being (Recovery, Nutrition, Mental Preparation) 
• Education of youth athlete, parents, and coaches. 
• Fitness and Health Testing

The training of a 12 year old will require a program that is different than that of a high school senior. Likewise, training a female athlete will demand a different approach to training than that of a male athlete. The female athlete is 7 times more likely to injure the Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL) than their male counterpart. These findings express the need for gender specific training programs.


Recommended book by +Warren Potash 

They're Not Boys - Safely Training the Adolescent Female Athlete

Game Plan for Success: Youth Athlete (follow this link)
By completing the above link you will begin to define Your Game Plan for Success. Randy Bauer, Physical Therapist will contact you with an personal email for a 20-minute session to outline Your First Steps to a Game Plan. If you have any comments or questions please enter in the comment session below.



Strategies that prevent re-injury also demand attention. Young athletes that are injured have a greater incidence of reoccurring injury. Return to play strategies must include fear avoidance strategies, progressive return to play opportunities and development of fitness levels consistent with competitive demands.

Included below are a series of excerpts that discuss the youth athlete game plan for injury prevention, sport-specific training, fitness and health. 



https://plus.google.com 06/03/2013 18:40

Youth athletes are being overexposed to practice and competition in sports, and the result is increased overuse and traumatic injury. Youth sports is important for the development of our children's well-being. The are some helpful tips that can be followed to take proactive approach to monitoring the youth athlete. There must be an Athlete Game Plan that ensures safety and well-being of the youth athlete.
#athletegameplan   #youthsports   #youthsoccer   #overuseinjury  
Read more ...

Performance Nutrition for Energy, Recovery and Health

http://www.slideshare.net 2011-11-07

A Successful Athlete will have a Game Plan. A Vital Component to High Level Performance is Nutrition. Performance Nutrition Provides Energy for Training, Recovery and Maintains Mental Function, all Vital to Success on the Competitive Field.
Read more ...

Speed Training and Dynamic Warm-up

GamePlan for Success:Speed Training Dynamic Warm Up
http://www.slideshare.net 2011-10-09 
Speed training requires proper warm-up to prepare for the workout session. Speed training is an intensive neuromuscular activity. Proper preparation is required for successful outcome and injury prevention. Gear For Success: Athlete Wellness Game Plan

Speed Testing and Training for Football

Football Training: Speed Testing and Training Considerations
http://www.slideshare.net 2012-08-11 
Football Speed Considerations Energy systems Testing considerations Periodization Dynamic Warm-up Speed training Sprint techniques Specific-conditioning Presented by Randy Bauer Bauer Physical Therapy Laguna Hills, CA www.bauerpt.com 94 ...
Read more ...

Ankle Injuries in Soccer: Treatment and Prevention

GamePlan forAthlete Success: Treatment and Prevention of Ankle Injuries in Soccer
http://www.slideshare.net 2011-07-30 23:47:38 UTC
Ankle sprains are common in soccer. Prevention and initial treatment of the ankle sprain will improve return to play and reduce the incidence and re-injury, maximizing performance on the field. www.bauerpt.com
Read more ...

Return to Play Following an ACL Injury

https://plus.google.com 10/20/2013 14:02
ACL Injury: When Can I Play?

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL) Injury devastates athletes of all ages. From the aspiring young athlete to the seasoned professional. Careers are interrupted and often ended by the ACL injury.

Reducing the risk of injury requires preparing the athlete to meet the sport-specific demands of the activity. Decreasing the exposure to injury is another way to impact the growing number of sports injury, specifically in the young athlete population. 

The development of sport and age-specific training programs must consider neuromuscular and technical training concepts to ensure gradual progression of a comprehensive performance based program. The young athlete must not be trained 'as if ' they are already at the next level.

Read more on Overexposing the Youth Athlete to Injury  http://goo.gl/6Hlf29

Read More on the Mechanism of Injury and Reducing the Risk of ACL Injury in Soccer http://goo.gl/MNpgAF

Read More on Teens and ACL Injury: Reducing the Exposure and Return to Play  http://goo.gl/ZWUilO

#aclinjury #youthsportsinjuries #returntoplay

+Warren Potash +Bradford Lowry +Joe Napolitani +Soccer Talk
Read more ...

Mindful Meditation Practice Benefits Body, Mind and Positive Emotions

Mindful Mediation Benefits for Body - Mind - Positive Emotion

The Benefits of meditation are becoming substantiated by numerous research studies supporting improvements of body, mind and positive emotion. There is a growing body of research that supports the use of mindfulness meditation improves mental function, activates parts of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and social connection. 

Physiological benefits of meditation include positive effects on the circulatory and neuromuscular systems. This can influence our blood pressure, reduce pain, and relieve tension in our internal organs and muscles.

This helps establish the benefits of a mind and body connection when practicing meditation in a mindful manner. Becoming mindful to your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and environment, and experiencing these in the present is the foundation of meditation applied in a mindfulness practice.




http://www.nicabm.com/nicabmblog/mindfulness-works-heres-the-evidence/

Clinical practitioners are integrating Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction(MBSR)in their clinical practice for pain control, relaxation, anxiety disorders, and to help with sleep disorders.

What is Mindfulness
The definition of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of  MBSR.

"Paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment."

Despite the large body of research that supports meditation and mindfulness based stress reduction programs there continues to be a resistance to practice these techniques based on many preconceived notions.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health Benefits a Meta-Analysis, Grossman, et al.(2003

These are but a few of these notions that connect meditation with myth, and give the name a bad rap.

• It goes against my religious beliefs.
• Chanting a mantra must be used.
• It takes long hours to be performed correctly.
• It is impossible to sit in a lotus position for a long time.

You do not need to be a Hippy to practice meditation to experience the benefits of health and positive emotions.

+Emma Seppala, PhD attributed to infograph 

The practice of mindfulness and meditation is just what it implies, practicing, however much time you have, a minute, a short break from your work tasks, or daily activity by:

• Being present with nothing other than your breath. 

• Giving attention to the moment you are in and doing so in a non-judgmental manner. 

• Experiencing the possibilities within that breath, and the next breath... and what that reveals.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master and poet that was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize stated eloquently:

"Mindfulness is revealing and it is healing."

Please take the time to answer a few questions if they apply to You

• How do You use Mindfulness and Meditation in Your Life?

• Do You apply this in a clinical practice?

References:

• Can Mindfulness Strengthen an Aging Brain

• How Mindfulness Impacts Focus Even During Discomfort

Youth Baseball Injuries can be Prevented with Preparation

Common Injuries and Causes Related to Youth Baseball Injuries

Part I

The most common area of pain complaints in the young baseball player is the elbow. The shoulder is also a common site of injury. Several risk factors are associated with increased risk of injury in the youth baseball athlete:

1. Age: the young athlete is susceptible to injury due to the development of the musculoskeletal  system. The growth plates located at the ends of upper arm, at the elbow and shoulder, are common sites of potential injury.
2. Level of Competition: as the young athlete increases their level of play so does the demand on the maturing arm in the throwing athlete. Increased competition places demands due to frequency of throwing, throwing distances and intensity of play.
3. Number of pitches in a season: as the level of play increases the repetition of throwing increases. The young pitcher places increased demands on the soft tissue of the elbow and shoulder if adequate rest intervals are not allowed to take place.
4. Fatigue: inadequate rest causes fatigue, and if the body is not prepared with proper technique, physical preparation(strength and endurance), and control of pitches thrown, the shoulder and elbow are at greater risk of injury.

Breaking pitches(junk) and high pitch count are associated with elbow and shoulder pain in 9-14 year baseball players. While muscle soreness can be expected in throwing sports, joint pain should never be accepted as normal.

Elbow Anatomy

Most Common Injuries

Little League Elbow:

Avulsion of the ossification center of the medial(inside) elbow. Accompanied by pain, limited motion, swelling and possibly a popping sensation

Little League Shoulder:

Involves injury of the proximal(shoulder bone) humeral growth plate(epiphysis). Pain is experienced over the front and lateral aspect of the shoulder. The ability to move the arm may be limited, as well as strength.

Osteochondritis Dissecans:

Shoulder Anatomy

Compression lesion of the articular cartilage in the lateral(outside) elbow. There may be associated loss of extension(straightening) of the elbow. This may be more career threatening.

Rotator Cuff Strain:

Overuse of the stabilizing soft tissue at the shoulder(glenohumeral joint) is a common injury in overhead, throwing sports such as baseball. The muscle-tendon cuff attaches at the upper most end of the shoulder. The muscle can be injured as a result of repetitive strain. Pain and weakness is commonly present with throwing and lifting movements.

The initial management of shoulder or elbow pain includes rest and pain control. Decreasing pain is best managed with control of pain and inflammation. This includes rest and activity modification and application of cold packs 2-3 times per day to decrease inflammation.

If pain does not decrease, and range of motion of the shoulder and elbow remain painful and limited, it is recommended that a Medical Professional(Medical Doctor or Physical Therapist) evaluate the injury before return to play. Continued play with pain and weakness can lead to career threatening issues.

In Part II of the Youth Baseball Injuries can be Prevented with Preparation I will discuss specific exercises and drills that can be included as a strength and conditioning program for the youth baseball athlete.

See specifics related to long toss baseball throwing programs to increase arm strength, and understand the implications of starting a long toss throwing program.

 

Concussion Education for Parents and Kids

Concussion Education for Parents and Kids
Managing concussions begins with education. Watching this video brings more light to the serious consequences of head trauma. Athletes of all ages are at risk of experiencing some type of head trauma during their participation is sports. Athletes that are competing in contact sports are at higher risk of head injury. Being able to identify that causes, symptoms and signs of a concussion will help in providing proper care. If proper care is not provided long term health can be compromised, and the potential for death exists.
Preventing and managing concussions begins with education.

Mindfulness and Eating

What is the Single Thing You Can do For Your Health?