I did get a flare buy watching the video. :eek: There is NO WAY I could balance tea while swooshing my arms around. It reminded me of the spinning plate circus act.

I did buy the Scott Sonnon video, as it looks like it could have potential if I continue to make progress over the next year or so. Not opening though as I'd be tempted to try some movements and I've learned from enough mistakes!

Exercise balls and kettlebell
 

My latest exercise tools are a pair of 2lb exercise/pilates balls and a 5lb kettlebell. Mainly I use these to get a little better stretch from some of my exercises. These things can be swung, twisted, turned, and rotated. I'm really into the three dimensional type of movements.

When I was young, I did a lot of bodybuilding with free weights. It didn't occur to me back then, but most of my exercise movements were done in straight lines. How often do you move that way in real life? Not many. Most real life, everyday movements, are more three dimensional.

TOS in my case, was largely a repetitive strain injury, I think. Lifting weights, and doing bodybuilding type movements just added to that, but that was 30 years ago and I didn't know any better. 30 years ago, there was pretty much no information out there on TOS and repetitive strain injuries.

So now everything I do is more three dimensional movement type exercises. I'm trying to get all the flow back in my body. This stuff is working way better than the Edgelow protocol ever did for me. There just wasn't enough movement in it. I've spent hours working on my shoulders and arms. Lying on foam rollers and breathing can only get you so far.

Opening the jar of pickles
 

There used to be this old joke that went something like this:

How does a TOSer open a jar of pickles? They drop it on the cement.

I always liked that one because opening a jar was always so painful for me. I've always had to use one of those jar openers with the handle on it, to get more leverage, but even that was painful. Some tough jars were impossible.

The point I'm getting to here, is, yesterday, I was feeling pretty good and I was actually able to open a jar with my hand, with no pain after. Maybe it was just an easy jar, I don't know. But I've noticed more and more lately, that little everyday things like this are starting to get easier. It's an encouraging sign.

Congrats on making progress!!

Btw you mentioned that you like 3D exercises and you like that Ba Gua tea cup exercise. You should look into moving qi gong which is all 3D exercises and originates from the same culture that created the tea cup exercise. You can find some DVDs on Amazon with reviews.

Thanks, chroma. I'll check it out.

Inflammation is good
 

I know that sounds a little crazy but inflammation is actually good, in my case. I always get it if I've added some new exercises or stretches. It just lets me know I've stretched some injured tissues that aren't used to it. Sometimes after doing something new, the inflammation may take three or four days to calm down, and I've been at this for more than 18 months now.

I always let the inflammation calm down before I do anymore stretching for that area. I let my arms be the guide. You can't fight fire with fire. As the tissues start to heal and get more healthy, the inflammation calms down faster, usually in a day or two. I'm trying to undo 30 years of damage here so it's a very slow process.

I also started keeping a notepad at the beginning part of the year. If I do something new, I write it down. That way, later on in the day when the inflammation shows up, I can remember why. Otherwise, I tend to forget some of the new exercises I do and wonder why I'm in pain. If I don't have some inflammation at the end of the day, I don't feel like I worked at things hard enough.

Thinking long-term
 

"It takes similar duration to healthily transform a fitness life as it does to create an Olympic athlete: 5-8 years. 1-2 years to restore mobility, gain dietary awareness and lose excess fat. 1-2 years to restructure into an athletic foundation and remove all nutritional impediments. 1-2 years to build the physique byproduct of flowing movement and tighten a high-octane performance health nutrition platform. We can prevent frustration and burnout by setting big-dream, long-haul lifestyle transformation mindsets".

Scott Sonnon posted that on Facebook today. "1 to 2 years to restore mobility", and I'm assuming that's for a fairly normal person. For someone like me, it's obviously much longer. Reading that just helps me put things into perspective and stay motivated. This is a slow process.

Where can I purchase Scott Sonnon's DVD?
And where did you see this on Facebook? I think I found some other Sonnons and not the one you are referring to.

Glad to hear you are having such good results with this program!

Thanks Fern. I bought the intu-flow dvds from Amazon.com. The beginner program is also free on Youtube and he sells them on his website.https://rmaxinternational.3dcartstor...Audio_c_6.html

Here's the link to his Facebook page.http://www.facebook.com/ScottSonnon

A good explanation of Intu-flow
 

This guy does a good job of explaining how intu-flow works.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=CQSdHIf6xHQ