Four Things I Pray For Every Work Day

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Moves. The gift of movement is something for which I feel more grateful with each passing day. From the times when I don’t have the opportunity to work out to seeing the ways in which my patients struggle with movement, I see each step and workout as a blessed thing. Since it has been quite a few days since my last post, I will highlight only a few of my favorite workouts from this past week.

Last Thursday: Yoga online

Last Friday: Outdoor play time + rock climbing with Janice and a couple more friends!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alison Yeung, PT, DPT (@alison_grooves)

Saturday: Lower body

Squats (warmup ➔ 1×8 at 135# ➔ 1×5 at 155# ➔ 3×3 at 165# ➔ 4×4 at 155#)
3 rounds: 12 KBS + concentric to eccentric deadlift to squat jump x10

Monday: HIIT workout (30 sec work/30 sec rest x 4 rounds)

Dumbbell burpee to push press
Bent over dumbbell rows
Bear crawl plank to kick through
Wall balls
Plank jack climbers / crossing mountain climbers

Yesterday: Upper body

Pull-up practice with and without band // 15 second flexed arm hangs
8 devil presses + 10-12 dumbbell chest press on ball
Wall walks focusing on weight shifting in handstand position
10 TRX rows + 6-8 dips
12 scorpion ball planks / 8 ball pike to pushup + 40 double unders

10 hours. That’s how much sleep I got last night because I have been terrible at getting at least 7 hours of sleep for the past couple ~~weeks~~ months. I went to sleep at 8pm like a baby, and oh how I wish I could do that every night.

Chipotle rice. Last Saturday a few friends and I helped out another friend with her high school retreat at the church where she is a youth minister. Most importantly, the theme was forgiveness, and it was beautiful to see so many high schoolers respond to God’s Mercy that night. Second most importantly, I discovered how much I really love Chipotle’s lime cilantro rice. I know it’s old news at this point, but DANG that is some buttery flavorful goodness. I took home some leftovers and enjoyed every last bite of it this week.

Brunch and generosity. Also last weekend, I grabbed brunch at Cafe Landwer with my friend Sabrina, and it was just lovely. I had shakshuka with halloumi cheese and the best bread. She had a breakfast platter that included tastes of lots of little dishes. We both didn’t know each other very well before the brunch, but we ended hoping to catch up again soon.

What struck me was her generosity in treating me to brunch (and an Uber from one crowded brunch place to another). She is a young, relatively new grad who could probably be frugal like the rest of us, but she realized her position of having a job and my position of still being a student with zero income, and she without a question treated me to brunch. It’s small and logical, but I felt that the gesture was filled with so much love and consideration. Thank you, Sabrina!

Four things. It’s been a busy but good week at clinical, but the current and impending challenges of becoming the best new grad PT I can be is a little daunting. Since my first clinical in summer of 2018, I have prayed for two things: honesty and humility. I wanted to be very honest in what I knew and did not know, in what I needed from my clinical instructor, and in who I was as a clinician and a person. All while being humble in accepting criticism and in failing at times.

Since the start of this third clinical, I have prayed for an additional two graces: clarity and competence. As I am approaching my doctorate, it’s not just about passing to the next step of my education; it’s about exceeding expectations to give my patients the very best care possible. I know I need to be clear and intentional about what I do for treatment and why, and it needs to be backed by solid evidence and clinical reasoning.

Honesty, humility, clarity, and competence. My H’s and C’s. It all seems obvious, but they don’t come easily all the time, so I pray for them.

So tell me:

What was your favorite workout this past week?

Do you like Chipotle rice?

What is a kind gesture that stood out to you this week?

Do you have a daily prayer / mantra to get you through the work week?

Ya Ever Wanna Crush Things With Your Bare Hands?

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Moves. 45 minutes on the assault bike (a fitting name for it). I basically did my own spin-class-style workout to my “werk” playlist on Spotify, doing a variety of sprint intervals, recovery songs, and endurance/tempo songs.

I ended with songs from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, and I felt like I was INVINCIBLE. My favorite songs are “Memories” (a slower, moody, lyrical hip-hop type of vibe) and “What’s Up Danger,” which I have expressed to my friends is a song that makes me “wanna break things and throw boulders while wearing a Mulan-in-armor-esque type of costume.”

…Which explains the title of this post. Side note: Highly recommend the movie if you have not watched it yet — a very well-done cartoon!

Femur felt fine after the workout, but I still need to make a doc appointment to get it checked out for real.

Spontaneous conversation. My friend asked me if I wanted to hang out / study with her on campus yesterday. When I got there, we initially had our laptops open to do some work, but she asked me how I was doing and asked specific questions about my life, opening up a lovely, spontaneous conversation about deeper things than I was expecting for a rather normal Tuesday afternoon. She showed genuine interest in me, which was so touching. I forgot how much even a brief heart-to-heart can refresh my being. Thanks, Lauren ♥︎

Punctuality. I was late to ^^^said meet-up with Lauren, about which I NEED TO BE BETTER. I am punctual for class, work, and meetings with professors/bosses, but when it comes to casual meet-ups with friends, it’s like my brain cannot get my body to move and think fast enough to be on time. I always leave too late and overestimate my ability to get done what I want to get done. But I do not want to keep taking advantage of my friends’ / family’s time, because that ain’t right.

Stuffed cabbage rolls. I made these babies for the first time ever, which was super random; I’ve literally never eaten a cabbage roll in my life, but I had beef… I had cabbage (#cheapestveggieindaclub)… Cabbage rolls! My Ukranian roommate saw me cooking them and said, “I have never seen anyone in America make these.” I enjoyed them! Baby meatloaves in a blanket!

Quote. I pray every day, but it has been a long time, it seems, since I smiled during prayer from the depths of my soul. But yesterday, I could not help but (soft) smile, and this quote was part of the reason:

Prayer is nothing more than a friendly conversation with the One whom I know Loves me. — St. Teresa of Avila

Hump day already, baby! Let’s get it.

So tell me:

Do you ever feel like you could crush things with your bare hands because of a super intense workout song?

When was the last time you had a refreshing spontaneous conversation?

Punctuality — great at it or struggle with it?

Have you ever eaten stuffed cabbage rolls?

Never Alone

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Me right now:

images.washingtonpost.com

[source]

The week just started and I already feel smoked and kicked in the derrière.

I cannot complain, though. First of all, I am blessed to be in school and to have wonderful opportunities ahead of me this week. Secondly, this weekend I went on the Catholic Center retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine, and the time away from school to spend a lot of quality time with God has refreshed my soul and filled my heart.

12743535_1033677896697379_325712070490665800_n

The theme of the retreat was “Never Alone,” referring to the importance of friendships in this journey of life and faith. The speaker for the weekend, Fr. Tom, spoke about friendship in such a unique way. What he said was so simple and logical, yet so profound.

Fr. Tom said two things that have been buzzing in my head all weekend long:

It is improbable that we have the friends we have and that we are living the faith. There are so many improbable events that have happened to bring us to where we are now.
There is such a thing as being “talented” at friendship.

How true and beautiful those points are. It is no work of my own that has brought me into such a faithful family, to such a privileged life, and to such a loving community (both online and offline). Every good, bad, big, and little thing that has happened in my life shaped me into who I am today and continues to shape me into who God wills me to be.

12742525_1033678090030693_8221490677502009025_n

For instance, it sends chills down my spine to reflect on how the events of my life led me to start this little ol’ blog. My participation in performance sports ➔ my weight gain ➔ my obsessive and stubborn personality ➔ my discovery of healthy living blogs ➔ my eating disorder ➔ my loving family ➔ my recovery ➔ my renewed outlook on healthy living blogs ➔ the start of this blog ➔ the love and support I receive from the blogging community ➔ the friendships fostered here…

It sucks that anyone has to have an eating disorder. It sucks that there is suffering and hurt. But the goodness that can be drawn from disorder and suffering can be more fruitful and expansive than anyone could ever hope or imagine. And this is largely because God gave us other people to live with. People can suck, don’t get me wrong, but people can be our companions on this journey that is life.

Fr. Tom said that friendship is goal-oriented. If you have a shared destination, you have a shared journey. Furthermore, the depth and beauty of the goal impacts the depth and beauty of the friendship.

happy 20th birthday, Rachel!!!

For me personally, eternal life with God is the ultimate goal, and sharing this goal with my friends transcends our conversations and interactions in order to match it.

Recovery from an eating disorder is another profound goal that I can {fortunately and unfortunately} share with so many people, thanks to the blogging community. That goal has great depth and beauty, so our interactions with one another match that. I am constantly in awe of how close I have become to people from around the world through the internet, all because we know about hurt, and we know that we want something better.

Two last things that stood out to me from Fr. Tom’s talks:

The root of all religion is the desire to thank something or someone for life’s blessings.
Each of us has a “sacred mission” and obligation to reach out to a specific person of God’s choosing. We won’t be able reach everyone, but we were definitely meant to reach someone.

It’s impossible to count all the people who have made an improbable impact (whether it was positive or negative) on my life that has led me to where I am today. But I thank God for giving each one a sacred mission to reach out to me.

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness week, and I think this weekend’s retreat theme is so pertinent to the occasion. There is comfort in trusting that everything happens for a reason. Everyone’s journey is different, but I can say from my own experience that I could not have recovered to this point had I not found this community of bloggers/readers who shared the same goal. I also could not have recovered had it not been for such improbable factors in my life, and for all these things, I thank God.

This year’s NEDA Week theme is: “Three Minutes Can Save a Life.” If there is a way that you can compassionately and gently spread the word about getting screened for an eating disorder to your friends or community, please do. It may just be that improbable factor that leads someone to recovery.

general-full_0

[source]

Thank you to all who made this retreat weekend wonderful. Thank you to all of you who have shown me love at any point in my life. Thank you to the Lord of all.

So tell me:

What are some improbable events that have led you to where you are today?

What did you do this weekend?

Thoughts?

How to Be a Good Friend in College

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I’m feelin’ this beautiful fall weather at the core of my soul and I LOVE IT.

I just broke out the boots this morning since they were calling my name from the ~~back of my shoe collection~~ bottom of my shoe pile.

Let’s catch up by talking about how to be a good friend in college. The edition that doesn’t have to do with carrying your friends home after a frat party (although, that’s also what good friends do).

My friends here in college are honestly some of the best people I’ve ever met, and I am constantly inspired by how much they want to be better people through education, self-sacrifice for the good of others, wholesome experiences, and nourishment of their faith.

Thanks to these wonderful people, I’ve compiled a semi-serious list of…

{how to be a good friend in college…and at any stage in life}

–Forget the age/year difference. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students can all hang out and their social lives will not be tainted. In fact, they will flourish.

freshmen, sophomores, seniors, and grad women gathering for our freshman friend’s birthday

–Have an early breakfast date with a friend. (Walk to the farther dining hall just to eat good omelettes. Bonus points if you both bring your own peanut butter and then take pictures of one another.)

–Be a good lab partner, because college labs can be deathly tedious.

–Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. That’s when the deepest and best connections happen.

–Sing and dance like a fool around your friends. If they tell you to stop, you can stop. But try it anyway, they might join you.

–Set goals with one another. Whether that’s going to the gym five times a week with a buddy, acing a class, going to church every Sunday…or checking off food bucket list items together.

#42: Spicy Food at Thai Dish — check!

–Tell your friend if he/she has something in his/her teeth. That feeling of looking into the mirror after talking with lots of friends and seeing stuff stuck in your teeth. You know.

–Reserve judgement. We all do silly, stupid, sinful things.

–Embrace spontaneity and don’t be afraid to ask your friends to join you. I’m always afraid to ask people to do things with me on a whim because I’m afraid of rejection, but I have learned that I love when people reach out to me to do spontaneous fun things.

like a movie night and epic hair braiding feat. Lauren’s gorgeous locks and Rachel’s mad skills

–Don’t pressure your friends. Peer pressure is real in every way. It’s easy to be pressured and it’s easy to fall into the trap of pressuring others. It’s not the end of the world if either one happens to you. Just be aware.

–Pray for your friends. Especially when you kinda don’t want to talk to them/you’re annoyed with them.

–Ask for prayers from your friends. You need ’em too.

–Branch out. Having a close friend group is so important and good to have. That being said, cliques are overrated, and there are people who really want to know you but are too scared to approach you. You might even be that scared person. Launch out and just talk to people. The people worth having as friends will reciprocate.

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

I don’t know what your hair looks like today, but however it looks, ROCK IT.