June Book Drop

When I started writing book reviews, I didn't have the foresight to realize I might one day need to indicate the year to which each post belongs. As I approach this fifth Book Drop installment, I realize keeping my website up-to-date and regularly sharing on this platform has become a habit. I enjoy it and hope that one day more people interact with me on here vs. social media. Lately, I have spoken to more and more friends who are fatigued, or just plain done, with social. Social media is flashy. By its flashy nature, it is not intended to keep our attention. I’m surprised things like Instagram have had the longevity they have enjoyed. I mean, they have a place and can be fun and even useful at times, but I don’t think the place for social media is at the centerpiece of a full and actualized human life.

I took a little break from writing weekly because the previous two posts required a big effort to research and write. I’m using this post as a palette cleanse. I managed to read another 11 books this month. I was excited about a few in particular (noted below). If you’re keeping tabs, I've read 11 books per month this year with a running total of 66 books. Is that a humble brag? Maybe a little. Moreso, let this encourage you to get off social, turn off your screens, and embrace literature. For me, listening to audiobooks has made it possible to be an artist, athlete, entrepreneur, mom, and foreign-language student while maintaining a high volume of reading.

Jakes Quest For The Five Stones

By: Hanit Benbassat

This was not a great book. The thought behind the book was nice enough. The world-building was meager. The characterization was lacking. The sound design was distracting. There was absolutely NO nuance to the subject matter. I will have a little grace and say, it is a book meant for children so perhaps there is some benefit to being blunt. It felt terribly rushed. And that was all before I listened to the epilogue wherein the author tries to pass Atlantis off as having been a real place where people could manipulate energy and matter with the use of crystals 😩. I would recommend skipping this book entirely.

Summary Here

Temple Grandin

By: Sy Montgomery

I learned some things about Temple Grandin. Her story is definitely interesting. I wanted to dig a little deeper into books exploring neurodiversity. I’m not sure I loved that this book was written by someone else about Temple. Temple has written books of her own so I think, in the future, if I decide to read about her in greater detail I will choose one of those. This book was a good jump off point for getting the basic understanding of who TG is and what she has done in her life to make her stand out. Not a waste of time but I wasn’t super pumped about it by the time I was done.

Summary Here

The Mystickwick School of Musicraft

By: Jessica Koury

This was a good one! In fact, this is the second time Vor and I read this book. It definitely is giving Harry Potter vibes as far as the magical school is concerned but its it’s own book for sure. The characters deal with loss, failure and social dynamics. There are satisfying obstacles the main characters have to overcome. There’s an implied diversity to the cast of characters. There’s enough drama and resolution to be satisfying but there are some mysteries as yet unsolved so Vor and I both want another installment.

Summary Here

The Doors of Eden

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

This book started as a mystery/disappearance novel. The scope then started to expand and bloom. The past ramped up significantly from the beginning to the middle. And before I knew it I was careening toward the end. There were no dull moments for me. I was happy to gain some insight into the author’s worldview. He incorporates vibrant and convincing LGBTQ main characters and takes some time to skewer bigotry in a way that is clearly pointed at real-world archetypes. If you enjoy Tchaikovsky’s other works of biological sci-fi or like the lore of cryptid-hunting and want a mind-bending twist, you will enjoy this book for sure.

Summary Here

Camp Cacophony

By: Jessica Khoury

This book was released this month in the “included” catalog for Audible which is why we re-read The Mysticwick School of Musicraft. In the process of writing these reviews I discovered the sequel Vor and I were hoping for has been released as well. This is a prequel. It is a perfect little snack of a book. It is nice and consistent with the vibe of the original and is a nice way to get some more details on the life of our heroine. If you read and enjoy the first Mystwick book I recommend you check this out as well.

Summary Here

The World’s Strongest Librarian

By: Josh Hanagarne

I liked this dude immediately. He is your ever-sensible, metal-loving, always-sardonic, frequently-irreverent dude-friend from high school or college. If you didn’t have one of those, I suggest you find the nearest middle-aged dude in a Black Flag shirt and interview them for the position immediately. Your life will be improved with laughs and refreshingly non-toxic masculinity.

I think we sometimes shy away from listening to neurodivergent or disabled people because of how painful it is to imagine ourselves on the receiving end of the social bullshit they often have to wade through. Furthermore, empathizing with the physicality of such things is not the easiest thing for able-bodied people in our culture. It takes a will to self-teach in order to gain the perspective and compassion to not suck at empathy in general and specifically for the aforementioned communities.

Books like this are important because they allow readers from all communities insights that, one hopes, will engender the kind of empathy discussed above. Its easy to follow Josh from a child to an adult. Its easy to envision him as your friend or brother. It is therefor less difficult to imagine the terror of feeling no control of your body. It is easy to envision yourself, as a parent, worried for the well-being your child who may have inherited one of your less-desirable traits.

This is a great, approachable and relatable read. File it under memoirs and definitely check it out at some point.

Summary Here

Unspoken: A Memoir

By: Luke Daniels

I knew this book was going to rip my heart out. But I also fully trusted the author. Luke Daniels is the narrator of many of Vor and my favorite books. You can tell from the way he handles characterization and the subject matter he gravitates toward that he is a man that knows his way around a story - even a tragic and personal story like the loss of a small child.

I wasn’t wrong to trust him. I also wasn’t wrong about how heart-breaking this story is. Despite the utter tragedy of this story, Luke guides you through steadily and knowingly. He provides levity without making light. He takes pause for breath in the way only a consummate professional knows how to do.

I don’t even know the man personally but I’m proud of him. We need to share our humanity with one another. This book is a triumph to that end.

Summary Here

Red Rising

By: Pierce Brown

My Gawd. I loved this. Not too long ago but before I started writing reviews, I read The Owner Trilogy by Neil Asher. I’m going to draw a couple similarities. Here they are: lots of action, sci-fi, space, very-masculine main character, a grudge against the ruling caste. One can also draw some similarities between this book and The Hunger Games. There are those on the internet that would have me feel basic for liking this book. I dunno, man. First of all, I’m listening to it and Tim Gerard Reynolds is a fucking boss of a narrator. He bodies the fuck out of this. Darrow veritably jumps out of the headphones and into real life the way this guy reads. For that alone, its a masterpiece. But I will take a moment to give some credit to Pierce Brown, too.

Hyper-masculine, though he is, Darrow is a complex character. Furthermore, the way in which his perspective his shared through Brown’s writing is nuanced. This is a first person narration but at times Darrow is unreliable. He is honest with himself in layers and thus, as the reader, you don’t get all of his intention up front. This style of writing keeps things interesting. I’ll also take a moment to acknowledge that I am an Aries moon and rising sign. I identify with Darrow - with his quick temper and aggression. I’ve tempered these traits of mine over the years and learned nuance but I would most certainly be in House Mars if I were in this book. So, there’s that.

Shout out to Shannon who recommended these books to me in 2017. I finally got around to them. This book is not without major losses from start to finish but the end was very satisfying. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

I have more thoughts that veer away from review and more toward speculation and philosophy. I love when a book sends my mind on tangents that get incorporated into my worldview.

RIYL the two series listed above and ASOIF but without the pomposity and 1000 POVs.

SIDENOTE: I almost always read things people recommend to me. Put them in the comments if you want to be my reading bestie.

Summary Here

The Other Animals

By: Rachel Hamburg

The purpose behind this book is very cool. Again, this heads into the territory of mental health and neurodivergence. If you don’t like short-stories you might want to skip this one. That is not my preferred genre but this looked like one of the better offerings in the Audible “included” catalog so I decided to give it a go.

Some of the stories were better than others but they were all enjoyable to me. I will admit that the slightly morbid thread and animal themes tying all the stories together reminded me heavily of one of my friends (also a writer), Seth Meeks. Seth is one of the few people who revels in diction and will discuss word-choice with me ad nauseam. Something that reminds me of Seth is going to get high marks by default.

With Seth as my guiding beacon for this book the two stories that I liked the most are: Death and Company about a trio of vultures and Rectangles the story of a crow attempting to decipher the human ritual of burying rectangles in the ground.

If you enjoy breaking from run-of-the-mill perspectives you will likely find this book worth your time.

Summary Here

Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire

By: John August

YEEEEEEES!!! Vor and I both LOVED this book. What great world building! This guy is a screen-writer and it shows. This book could easily be converted to screen. It is so easy to get wrapped up in this story. Arlo and the scouts are the perfect vehicle to teach life lessons to kids. I think Vor may be a little ahead of the game as far as listening comprehension goes since we have been doing reading and audiobooks in tandem for so long already but I would say the sweet spot is going to be readers/listeners from ages 7-10. And also 36-year-olds.

You get: encouragement to love nature, a push to find wonder in nature, guidelines for being a decent human being that are easy to discuss with young children, action, danger, magic and mystery.

A perfect kids’ adventure novel!

Summary Here

Hyperion: Cantos #1

By: Dan Simmons

Fun fact: I get it from my mama! Yes, my mom has been reading sci-fi since the early 70s. She’s the first person to put a sci-fi book in my hand. She and I still regularly share book recs and reading lists. This be one of them! I can remember being freaked out by the cover of this book my entire childhood! I probably would never have read it for that fact but Matt picked it out and I love sharing reads with him so I went for it.

It was likened by one reviewer to the Canterbury Tales. Its not an obvious comparison but its there. Unsettling at times, the diversity of characterization that you get from one story-line to the next is impressive. The book is a vice, tightening slowly toward the inevitability of The Shrike.

Not my favorite by a long-shot but a worthwhile and well-written read. The story is not at all wrapped-up in the first book so I will refrain from further commentary until reading onward!

Summary Here

Stability Spectrum Pt. 2

INTRO

Ok. Part 2 is about tools to get you moving with better awareness and integration. At the end of the day, a lack of integration is the cause of most of the issues we face in our movement. This is true whether you’re a little or a lot stiff, a little bendy or hyper-mobile. From here forward you need to embrace the fact that there is no template you can follow to get your body to move more comfortably, safer, athletically, etc. You are responsible for creating a path for yourself. As a reminder, I’m not a doctor so this post is to be taken as anecdotal. Consult a physician before undertaking the suggested drills and skills below. For more of the “why” behind this series go read Stability Spectrum Pt. 1.

So now let’s dive into some principles I’ve come up with:

1. Scale Your Core Work

2. Biggest Joints First

3. Create Support

4. Isolation and Isometrics

There are probably others. If you’re a movement specialist you may have some to add as it relates to foundational movement/Range of Motion (ROM) training. If so, drop them in the comments. But let’s dive into each of those because they will come into play heavily once we get moving.

1. SCALE YOUR CORE WORK

All of your movement needs to start with the organization and appropriate activation of your core. In yoga, we take that a step further to suggest that movement starts with breath and intention but really, same-same. Your lungs are in your torso, are connected to your core muscles, et voila!

Everyone has to do core work - serious and casual movers alike. Why? If you are on the stable/stiff side of the equation and you don’t train your core, you are going to over-train your extremities. This disorganization is not good for the body, yet the body adapts and the muscles and tissue of the extremities get stronger to compensate. As you learned if you attended or read Pt. 1 - the amount of tissue you have surrounding your joints effects your ROM. You will build the muscle, lose ROM and keep going in the general direction of disorganization until injury happens. If you are on the flexibly/hyper-mobile side of things, a lack of core activation leads to chronic spinal extension/anterior pelvic tilt. Alternately or additionally, your core does not start and end in your abs. Your core starts in your feet, travels up your inner thighs and connects into the torso via your pelvic floor. Improper or lack of core activation leads to the weight of your body and organs constantly pressing down on your lower body from the Lumbar Spine downwards. This can result in compressed discs, lower body joint pain and Pelvic Organ Prolapse.

As a movement teacher, I see people doing core incorrectly all the time.

*If your core work hurts you you’re doing more harm than good!

*If you don’t feel your targeted core work in your core you’re not working it!

Core work is infinitely scalable. It encompasses breath work, weighted deficit sit ups and everything in between. We will get into examples further down and in real life. But, suffice it to say, as it relates to the asterisks, there is no excuse. You have to do core work so you might as well do it right (effectively and safely). Here are some targets to hit every time you do core work and how you will know you’re doing it right:

1. You have to be able to breathe normally

2. You have to go SLOW. Your surface abs are twitch muscles. They work when you go fast. Your deep core is NOT twitch fiber. It ONLY works when you go slowly.

3. If you are targeting your core muscles and you don’t feel it in your abs and obliques, you’re not really working them.

2. BIGGEST JOINTS FIRST

When it comes down to it, our bodies are comprised of simple machines. Go deep enough down that rabbit hole with enough maths and physics and you will discover that the joint that loads first is the joint that carries the greatest load. Now in yoga, there’s a whole lot more room to get that wrong because you aren’t carrying more than your body weight. But it still makes me cringe when someone does chair and their knees jut forward before their butt goes back. If you’re stepping under a 200lbs rack for a back squat do you want your hips to carry most of that 220lbs or your knees? Your hips!! You can read more about Joint Loading Order as it relates to squatting HERE. Or if you’re brave, I recommend heading into the Crossfit Journal archives. There are good explanations of movement principles in the older material. Try to ignore the chest-beating and tomfoolery.

Biggest Joints First goes for your warm-up, your stretching, your actual athletic endeavors. It is foundational. Aside from the pure physics of it, your circulation and enervation are greatest at your biggest joints. That means moving your shoulders and hips (and spine as a unit) are going to get your hottest first and prime your body’s ability to send/receive neurological feedback.

3. CREATE SUPPORT

Sometimes you have to create support through activation. Let’s go back to weight-lifting. You breathe in and brace your core. In yoga, we go back and forth between active and passive. The support in active yoga poses looks much the same as weight-lifting. There will support from your core and possibly some attenuated bracing. However, in yoga, we get into passive stretching and in this instance, it is both helpful and necessary to recruit props.

Let’s look at a standing vs. a seated forward fold to further elucidate the point. Standing forward fold is active. It is thought of as a hamstring stretch but let me tell you - if you aren’t using the fuck out of your core to create the deepest possible hip flexion, honey you’re doing it wrong. The entire front body is active from the throat to the toes. There is little to no gap between any part of the torso and leg so much so that many long-time practitioners can put the top of their head on the top of their feet. When done properly all of the support that is needed for good organization comes from the posture itself. The position of the body mirrors the position of and is held by the front of the legs so the back body can stretch.

Now a seated forward fold on the other hand can be active or passive. Let’s look at the passive version. The point is to deepen the stretch beyond the muscle fiber and into the fascia which requires longer holds. If one were to be engaged much of the fascial stretch would go away so engaging would defeat the purpose of the passive position. So one must fully lean into the passivity. But then gaps happen. Maybe the back of your knee comes off of the ground or flops to the side. Maybe your upper body doesn’t reach your legs for support. What do you do? You create support. In this instance, you would pull pillows and other such props in to fill the gaps. Not doing so results in two diverging trends depending on your point on the stability spectrum. Tight people tend to tense and hold the position in their muscles rendering the stretch utterly useless. Flexi people tend to hold the weight in the bones of their joints even or especially if they are “all the way” in the shape. Neither scenario is good.

Ok, so that’s yoga. Now we can zoom out again. Let’s go back to the use of support in other realms. A great tool for learning the squat is a box squat. You rack the back squat, lower to the bottom, sit on the box and explode off of the box. Find ways to look at your movement. If you are an athlete, break your sport-specific movement down to fundamental shapes and vectors then put support around those shapes. Do the same for opposing shapes to create balance. Also using props for athletic movement can look like creating resistance with said props and we will dig into that next. For passive and everyday motor patterns do the same. You get into the car a certain way? How can you better support yourself in that movement pattern? Can you hold the steering wheel for support? Do you sit and type all day? Can you passively support your spine in the opposition position to create balance?

4. ISOLATION AND ISOMETRICS

Break it down to fundamentals and create resistance. We are here to create better movement, better integration, resolve pain and kick ass. One does not learn to kick ass with a laissez-faire attitude or a lack of grit. But why wait for life to throw you a curve-ball when you can make your own life harder? Think I’m joking? No! If you’re older than 22 you have probably already lived through many years of unintentionally making your own life harder and growing in the process. But what about applying that theory, mindfully to the body?

To create the kind of change you want in your body - more flexibility or more stability - you have to create challenges that cause your body to adapt. The easiest way to do this is the break things down to components. While the body IS comprised of simple machines, when you put them all together and add movement vector +/- load, things get complex very fast. So its a good thing to work your joints and muscle groups in isolation. Much of what we will do in the workshop, physically is due to just this - drill movements of one joint or a joint system (ex: shoulder + arm) in order to examine what is working and what is not.

This works for people along all points of the spectrum. The emphasis for more mobile people is to isolate the sensation of the joints of the system or the single joint moving on its own - actively. The next step is to add the core back in and notice how the joint or system feels when connected. The body is built with checks and balances. If a joint has more than “normal” mobility AND the checks and balances of core/spinal position are ignored, the joint will take more of a load than it is built to and eventually injury can result. This can work in a positive direction as well. Most high-level contortionists are RIPPED. They train their core to go the whole distance with their hyper-mobile joints.

For the tight folks out there, the game is to get a read on the ROM of each of your joints. The movement is medicine. When you keep your dominant muscles from eating up every movement your body endeavors, your joints will begin to heal themselves and increase in ROM capacity. Myofascial release and muscle stretching is often essential to the process when dealing with a body that has developed a lot of muscle density.

So, that’s the isolation part. The isometrics boil down to resistance. The kind of resistance that comes from within. Sure, you could add weight and you WILL eventually get to that point. But in the beginning, the kind of resistance you can create with your own body and mind is ultimately going to be a much better teacher. Simply find your most integrated, fullest ROM - whatever that happens to be at your starting point - and hold there and breathe. Find your edge, feel it out and let your body map it. The only way to intelligently push past an existing edge in your body is to know, with precision, where it is. Isometric engagement at the end ROM will help you develop strength without bulk and it will help to develop proprioception in that particular position.

OUTRO

Try approaching your movement with these principles in mind. If you don’t already have a movement practice yoga can be a great place to start but the studio experience is not for everyone. If you’ve tried yoga in the past and been frustrated or injured you are not alone. Most yoga teachers these days know how to teach the “ideal” body to do a set sequence. They are not capable of handling your specific needs. Thus, if you endeavor to go to a yoga studio to practice, you need to go armed with knowledge of how to work your edges. If not, but you have the gumption to do it alone, there are tons of online resources to get you moving. And of course, you can always seek private instruction. No matter what, keep in mind what I said at the start - you are responsible for creating a path for yourself. If a yoga pose doesn’t feel good, don’t do it. If lifting heavy only feeds your ego, let it fall away.

There is a world of information on the internet. Movement science is not high-level worm-hole mechanics. You can self-teach to the point of being able to rehab yourself and advocate for yourself. Think of it this way - what do you think humans did while they were sitting around campfires, telling stories or stuck inside during a rainy season? Do you think they did manual labor all day and didn’t stretch? Ancient humans codified the basics of self-maintenance. Aside from maybe needing some accountability - you don’t need a teacher in $100 leggings, a former ballerina, or a person with a fancy degree to tell you how to move your body (until, maybe, you get to the upper levels then everyone needs a coach). Start small, move slowly, breathe deeply. Your body will take care of itself and you if you let it.

Below are some helpful videos for putting your joints or muscles or both through the paces. We will be doing some of these in the actual workshop but not all. This is not an exhaustive list but I’ve tried to give a little something for all parts of the body. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you find this useful.

RESOURCES:

Shoulders

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3qFPNjJll/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0usoGj_cR/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPrbLznMmuv/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO3x1jjnREO/

Hip

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6NYfQMUif/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPV5hrsjx_6/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPTQchNsKsk/

Knee and Inner Thigh

https://www.instagram.com/p/COLHtxss_wF/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPqkTKDDSxP/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdofViBpO-U

Spine

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPl2T0bsiEj/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJh3lelY_q/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5xiKg_hZtO/

Foot/Ankle

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPOIuH7Djzi/

https://instagram.com/p/COqIfrOJQa0/

https://www.instagram.com/p/COlaOIipGtV/?utm_medium=share_sheet

https://www.instagram.com/p/CORmHHgp1zP/?utm_medium=share_sheet

https://www.instagram.com/reel/COMWXd-pkza/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Hamstrings:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COqLdoOjwf0/

Hand/Wrist

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNTGH13MSkn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMzmGnnsQgn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3p59Flrep/

https://www.instagram.com/p/COvE9V3Mf6n/

Core:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO9DW9SpTkM/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPRXuDrh3b3/?utm_medium=share_sheet

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMM9m3FB13K/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Especially for hyper-mobile athletes (but also for everyone):

https://www.instagram.com/cirque_physio/

Especially for tight muscles and fascia and rehab (but also for everyone):

www.triggerpoints.net

May Book Drop

What If?

By: Randall Munroe

This was interesting but due to the nature of the content and its original format, it felt more like podcast material to me than book material. I appreciate the spirit of this book, however, and did find a lot of the information interesting, if not particularly useful. There were sections, based on my level of interest in the subject, that were less interesting than others. Overall it was entertaining. I read a great many books that are heavy-hitters and for that particular reason, I chose this entertaining read to break up the tone and pace of my reading list. I would not re-read this book but I am not mad that I invested my time to give a once-through.

Summary Here

Dance Dance Dance

By: Haruki Murakami

WARNING: some spoilers if you have read or watched Burning.

My love affair with Murakami’s works remains unbroken. Dance Dance Dance was weird. It was uncanny. It was just the right amount of eery. It reminded me A LOT of a long-format Burning. The characters were rich. The pacing was steady, methodical, detailed. I find Murakami’s writing extremely inspiring. It shows you don’t have to have a story with fantastical leap after leap to create something unique, interesting and beautiful.

Summary Here

Cthulu Casebooks #1

By: James Lovegrove

This was a really cool twist on Sherlock Holmes. But first, let’s deal with some unsavoriness. From wiki: “Reviewers have praised Lovegrove's use of Doyle's characters within a Lovecraftian conceit.” Due discussion is given, in the book’s intro, to the racist worldview of H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t realize that was the literary style in which this book would be written. What I mean by that is, the author draws heavily from the occult themes popularized by Lovecraft in a re-telling of an otherwise classic Holmesian story. This is what I would consider to be an attempt to NOT throw out the baby with the bathwater, to NOT partake of cancel culture if you will. I just think you should know that ahead of time if you decide to read this book. I thought it was super fun and I thoroughly enjoyed the mysticism interwoven into the narrative style of Sherlock Holmes. Also some useful reviews on GoodReads. Hit the summary button below for more.

Summary Here

The Fairies of Sunflower Grove

By: PJ Ryan

Ugh. I hate everything that PJ Ryan writes. They are, however, the perfect level for my 5 year old. He is such a champ and listens to and reads things far beyond his five years so I have to throw him a bone every once in a while. I cannot stand Gwedolyn Druyor’s narration. She choose the most infantile sounding voices and she is wildly inconsistent in her assumed accents. Its trite and annoying but for a kid its fun, I suppose. In fact it has almost a 5 star rating everywhere. Of Ryan’s catalog, we have listened to this, Rebecca Girl Detective, RJ Boy Detective and the one where everyone teams up. Anyway, they’re all pretty bad as an adult though they are great for emerging readers. RJ is the best. Rebecca was insufferable. The Faires are totally saccharine. You were forewarned.

Summary Here

The Things You Can Only See When You Slow Down

By: Haemin Sunim

While the content of this book was valuable, I didn't particularly enjoy the format. Does this mean I’m a picky bitch about books? Yes. I definitely have my opinions. This is a book that was created by transferring tweets to page. Some of the longer tweets that spiraled into narrative were good for listening. The shorter ones were a little disjointed feeling. I do think that a written version of this work would be good for those who like a mindful jump-off point for journaling. I chose this book as a “book to listen to while dozing off.” For that purpose, it really was perfect. Since there wasn’t a narrative, it was easy to double back and re-listen to parts I fell asleep to. It took a little longer to make it through than a fully wakeful listening but as far as subject matter and narration go, it filled its role in my library well.

Summary Here

My Grandmother’s Hands

By: Resmaa Menakem

A great book overall. In short, its about race and trauma with equal emphasis placed on both. I have specific categories of people I think this would be best suited for if I had to prioritize. IMO this book should be a priority for white people who are stepping into social justice and who find themselves uncomfortable with other writer’s tone toward white people (perceived or real). This is the first book I’ve read that does a good job at kindly walking white people through their own historical trauma. Resmaa lays out how simply being white perpetuates systemic racism but he does so in a way that feels devoid of judgement. It also coaches the reader (white) on how to recognize and de-escalate the sometimes knee-jerk push-back to being confronted about white-body privilege. For example, I requested a family member read The New Jim Crow. They made it through and gained a lot from the read but felt very attacked throughout. Had they read this book first, I think they would have been much better equipped for The New Jim Crow.

IMO this book is a less academic (on purpose) handling of the same info metered out by The Body Keeps The Score. There are fewer (at least for white readers) anecdotes that are the same level of triggering as TBKTS. There is also immediate incorporation of the body-work into the writing so you have tools to use while reading. I will say, there is one moment where the author used a hypothetical to elicit a response from the reader and he totally freaking got me. As a reader, you are warned, goaded, cajoled, coached and implored time and again to stop and do the practices laid out by Resmaa. And about 3/4 of the way through he put a scenario out there so infuriating and personally significant to me, that I had a very strong visceral reaction. Immediately after he writes - now stop and do the practices we have been talking about. And I did. Almost immediately after settling myself down, I realized how brilliantly he got me to do the work. I was deeply impressed. This book covers a lot of the same ground as TBKTS but in a totally different way.

There are whole chunks of this book intended to deal with trauma for Black and POC people as well as whole portions devoted to “The Police” as a body and the trauma they endure. I found both of those sections unique and insight-giving. While there are some people who I think would gain more from bumping this up the reading list before other reads, this book is a must for pretty much everyone.

Summary Here

My Dyslexia

By: Philip Schultz

Insightful, poignant, beautifully written once it gets going. This is not my first read about Dyslexia. It probably won’t be my last. What I’ve read in the last was at the intersection of clinical and anecdotal. This book is narrative, poetic and personal. I have quite a few neurodivergent people in my life. You probably do too, it’s not uncommon just not talked about enough. Books like this feel important to me for the sake of learning to be compassionate. If you want to be able to rise above being an asshole to people accidentally, you have to self-teach. We do not live in a society where “non-normative” experiences are culturally mainstreamed let alone championed. Additionally, My Dyslexia functions as a historical primer on Dyslexia and its clinical arc over the last 70 or so years. The author, Phillip Schultz, came up in the 50s and 60s. Some of what he experienced hasn’t changed much, some things are very different. Again, not information you’re likely to know about unless it touches you directly or unless you go out of your way to seek it out. A good, short read.

Noteworthy: This book is only rated a 3.75 on GoodReads. I would rate it higher, a hair over 4. It seems like most of the negative reviews are from people wanting instructions to follow for how Schultz overcame his dyslexia. That seems unfair to me. Everyone’s path is different and this book never claims to be self-help. Its self reflexive and poetic. Insights are there for those who can pick up on nuance. I don’t think this is a book to read if you have an agenda.

Summary Here

The Princess and the Goblin

By: George MacDonald

High falootin language. This was not a modern re-telling so the English was a bit difficult for Vor to follow. It wasn’t impossible nor did he completely miss the narrative arc, it just required more stopping and making sure that he was paying attention, asking questions and explaining than what we are used to. I remember reading this as a kid but I’m not sure at what age. It is definitely good - whimsical, sweet, suspenseful - it did the work. I would recommend finding a modernized version for young readers. For the slightly older crowd, I suggest undertaking a hard-copy read so as to facilitate the absorption of narrative, vocabulary and formal linguistic stylings. Also, I knew this was an old book but damn, it was written in 1872. Does put some perspective on it.

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Gulliver’s Travels

By: Jonathan Swift

More of the same as The Princess and The Goblin, really. Also, it’s not written for children. I totally read it as a kid - probably at eight or so years old, Re-reading along with a child, it’s clear that the voice is as an adult to an adult even though the subject matter is fun and imaginative. Le sigh. Good ol’ Vor hung in there nonetheless. Poor thing. Those two older stories really stretched his listening skills. Neither kept his attention very well. Read them if you like, probably skip them for the beginning readers.

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The Vor Game

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Fun! From what I can tell there’s a whole series. Choosing not to get mired down in it currently but I look forward to doing so in the future. Yes, you read the name correctly and yes they are a woman! A woman Sci-Fi author. But Carlina what about Le Guin or Jemisen etc? Great authors, misgenred imo. Those works are Fantasy with a sprinkling of or thread or two of science. McMaster-Bujold’s entire universe hinges on knowing enough about space that you can create an entire universe that abides by its rules. Now, before I get ahead of myself, she demonstrates that she knows enough but this is still not hard sci-if. It’s more like an underdog story inside of an empire-building story with a solid coat of sci-fi paint. Also, if you’re looking for a feminine touch, look elsewhere. My closest comparison here would be John Scalzi. If you like his Collapsing Empire books these will be right up your alley. Returning now to the things I liked: great characters and character development, so many twists and turns, a believable Universe, quick-witted and sometimes acerbic dialog. Thoroughly enjoyable as should anything be that bears my son’s name.

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The Claw

By: Patrick Carman

And-a-strike. I managed to pick three books in a row for Vor that just weren’t it. This books was fun for me but a little too scary/suspenseful for him. At the point of choosing this book, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel of children’s books included in my Audible subscription. Thankfully, they have updated offerings for June. Anyhow, RIYL RL Stine’s Goosebumps. This is a serialized offering. It read like a collection of short Goosebumps stories. Fast and fun with a spoooooky narrator and sidekick. It could also be compared to Tales from the Crypt!

Summary Here

Stability Spectrum Pt.1

INTRO & DISCLAIMER:

This is a written resource intended to be supplemental to my workshops on The Stability Spectrum. Most of what is written below will be useful as a stand alone source of information. If something needs clarification, it is likely because this is support for a real-time course, not included. Chances are, an online search will help you to gain further understanding. Or, if you have specific questions or concerns please drop them below in the comments. Remember, I’m a yogi and do not hold a doctoral degree in any medical or sport-related field. Use this information appropriately and with guidance from your doctor if there is any question at all about its safety or efficacy for you, personally.

WHY AM I TEACHING THIS WORKSHOP SERIES?

I’ve been teaching yoga since 2014. I’ve been coaching other movement since 2012 and I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I’m a trained researcher and have spent years accumulating knowledge outside of the academic context to apply to my own body or to give me a different lens by which to view the bodies that come to me for training. In the process of teaching and observing others, I noticed people tend to cluster toward one or the other starting place in their movement endeavors. They are either in Group A - “Flexible” or they are in Group B - “Strong.” I’ve made a diagram to illustrate my thinking. These are loaded terms but I’ve chosen them for a reason - because they both highlight what are considered to be desirable traits AND you don’t need to know special terms to get the idea I’m trying to convey. They do not, however, do a good job of describing what’s going on beneath the surface for either group. We will get into that momentarily. For further illustration of the point, see the graphics below. CAVEAT: we are working off of stereotypes so don’t get too invested…

Static and Motion based characteristics of “strong” and “flexible” people with some examples of overlap.

On the left sample “strong” bodies from a basic Instagram search #strong and on the right an Instagram search for #flexible

Injury happens, discomfort happens, pulled muscles happen, compressed vertebrae happen…right? Yes. They do. But they don’t have to, at least in theory. The two groups above, in addition to having distinct characteristics of what they look like standing and in motion, also have a tendency to accrue injuries, aches and pains and maladaptive motor patterns in divergent ways; with some areas of overlap as well.

Classical injuries/ailments experienced by “strong” or “tight” people, classical injuries/ailments experienced by “flexible” or “hypermobile” people and areas of overlap.

WHY CONTINUED…

In my personal experience I started in the “strong” category. I have experienced stiffness, discomfort, an inability to find good alignment in hand balance leading to chronic shoulder pain, sciatic nerve pain from a hamstring pull, etc. Over the years I have healed all of the above and am continuing to evolve my practice.

It so happens that, of my private clientele, more than half are working with me because of injuries related to hypermobility. These include patellar luxation, bunions, bursitis, hip capsule injuries, etc. We are continually working to re-train motor patterns that keep my clients’ bodies safe.

But in my everyday teaching experience, of which I have accumulated about 4,000 hours, I see people like me and people like my private clients mixed together in a class. As I gained experience, I started to notice these different populations. Listening to students, I started seeing patterns and how a standard yoga class assumes a body that possesses both strength and flexibility as a starting point, when in fact, many people are lacking in one or the other and sometimes both in drastic ways.

This online resource and the accompanying workshop are my first attempt to codify some of what I have observed over the years both in terms of problem areas and in terms of tools to resolve the problem areas. The good news is, the methodology is more or less the same for both groups of people! So below we will get into more technical definitions of “strong” and “flexible,” how to identify those patterns in yourself and from there we will take a look at some resources I’ve found to be of great efficacy over the years.

Definitions

As previously mentioned, the terms “strong” and “flexible” are good to get started but otherwise inadequate for the following conversations. So, let’s keep the general concepts but replace those two words for more meaningful terms.

In this conversation we will now convert “strong” to “stable.”

Stability is the ability to maintain or control joint movement or position. Stability is achieved by the coordinating actions of surrounding tissues and the neuromuscular system.

Instead of “flexible” we will now use “mobile.”

Mobility is the degree to which an articulation (where two bones meet) can move before being restricted by surrounding tissues (ligaments/tendons/muscles etc.) - otherwise known as the range of uninhibited movement around a joint.

In an ideal world these two abilities work together in tandem for a perfectly balanced system where no one get hurt except through external forces. But the real world looks like these two abilities being out of balance in most bodies to the degree that a person ends up in one or the other camp. To visualize this let’s bring back one of my favorite teaching tools from Psych 101 - the bell curve!

The Bell Curve

NOTE: The graphical depictions below are my approximation of things, not based on personal research or study. Real studies do exist if you want more precision.

The Bell Curve

The term "bell curve" is used to describe a graphical depiction of a normal probability distribution, whose underlying standard deviations from the mean create the curved bell shape.

Let’s apply the concepts of the Stability Spectrum to the Bell Curve and see what we get….

0, .5 and -.5 on the Bell Curve with our variables applied. Notice how the Bell Curve is a spectrum with a big bump in the middle.

Referencing the version of the Bell Curve (above), we start at the zero-point or the middle. Here, a person has full use of their joints in a way that is supported by their muscles and other tissue. The given range of motion (ROM) for a joint is determined by examining a wide variety of factors including the shape of the joint itself. We will take a look at the other factors involved a little later as most of the variables factor into where a person falls on the Stability Spectrum. You will also notice above, two points equidistant from the center. If we were talking pure numbers these points would be labeled .5. That is to say they are about half of a point away from the mean, taken here to mean the statistical average. On the Bell Curve, whatever is being measured is less “average” the further away from the middle it gets. At .5 away from the middle, you’re still looking at things most people would consider normative. In our example, someone who has one or two stiff joints or someone who maybe has open shoulders even though their hips are tight would not be considered extreme cases (we will discuss exceptions in the workshop). Since in reality most people don’t have full range of motion with support from surrounding tissue, the above is an idealization. In most circumstances, if you were to actually measure people and create a statistical average ROM, the mean would probably skew toward the tight side of things. The Yoga Dojo is an example of a community or cohort where, perhaps, the mean would skew toward the mobile side.

The Bell Curve - Tails

The further you move away from center on the Bell Curve the further you get from the statistical average. Here is 1+, using our model of mobility. At this point, the manifestations begin to look extreme compared to the middle of the pack.

Here’s where the conversation gets a little interesting. The further you move away from center the higher the number. So this Bell Curve (above) shows +1 and -1 and beyond. This is where, the people in our discussion would start to have congenital joint issues like club foot, or on the other end have Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome. The size of the Bell Curve drops off steeply here. That is because there is a rapidly diminishing number of people at each point. The two differently colored ends of our spectrum or Bell Curve are called the “tails.”

It is through examining the "why” behind the conditions at the tails that we get a really good understanding of what is at play for the rest of us back toward the middle.

Factors

Where you fall on the Stability Spectrum is going to be a combination of many factors. Your joint ROM is the quickest and dirtiest assessment of where you fall. As mentioned previously, there are multiple factors influencing ROM…

Bone Morphology - The shape and angles of the bones in the joint and leading into the joint. For this purpose you can think of all joints as simple machines. The length of the limb leading into the joint will create different leverage and torque in addition to the shape and angle of the joint itself. Ex: Press Handstands

Movement Practices - the regular degree through which a joint is asked to move. Ex: Sedentary lifestyle vs. Professional Athlete

Tissue Properties - Muscles, ligaments, tendons, even skin surrounding a joint have a predisposition to different properties. The assumption is that these tissues are all functioning normally. Changes in tissue function effect the stability or mobility of a joint.

Genetics/Diet/Age - The genes you inherit influence your morphology, tissue composition, how your body processes the raw material you consume as food and how these variables evolve over the course of your lifetime.

Injury - Accute and chronic use injuries can impact one or more joint’s ROM in a sudden and drastic way.

When you’re measuring a “normal” body it is sometimes difficult to see how the above factors relate to one another. It can be hard, for example, to look at my own body and say “Well what came first? Tight muscles? Tight ligaments? Is the tightness genetic? Is it emotional?” We have the people living in the tails to thank for some of the greatest insights about our body as a system. It is through studying communities like the EDS community, that we are able to understand the role genes play on collagen formation and thus joint health. It is through observation of patients undergoing physical therapy after surgery and injury that we are able to examine how large changes in ROM effect the body as a whole. The body is indeed a system. It is very difficult and maybe impossible to isolate any ONE of the above factors as being the definitive reason for where you fall on the Stability Spectrum.

Assessment Tools

Baseline measurements can be found below as well as some definitions of extension, flexion etc:

BASELINE ROM

A quick test for Hypermobility can be found below. Notice, we have not defined Hypermobility in writing. There is a wide range of what Hypermobility can mean and secondly there is no direct antonym or opposite. You can take it to mean greater than baseline ROM in one or more joints OR you can find a more detailed explanation here. The quick test for Hypermobility is called the Beighton Score. There are two links below both showing the criteria for the test with some novel and redundant information:

BEIGHTON SCORE 1

BEIGHTON SCORE 2

So what about the tighter people reading this and participating in the workshop? For you we have some standard flexibility tests ala gym class in primary school. If you want to get fancy - grab a friend, a protractor, ruler and tape measure. The tests after the link below more or less run you through the ROM for your major joints. Get your friend to measure the angle with the ruler and protractor and some of the sit and reach scores with your tape measure. That is what we will be doing in the workshop!

FLEXIBILITY TESTING

Final Thoughts for Pt 1

Ok, how’d you do? If you came away with a couple of hyper mobile joints, congratulations! You are in the approximately 25% of the population who has one or two hypermobile joints. If you your self assessments or the definitions on the Hypermobility page started sounding alarms, this would be a good indication to follow up with your doctor. Severe connective tissue disorders are rare BUT maybe some of the aches and pains you experience are related. Part 2 of this series will address some immediate tools you can use and modifications you can make to your movement to keep you safe in the mean time.

Tight? Chances are you already knew it! But likewise, if you are experiencing limitations in a generalized way, or severely in more than one joint, that’s what part 2 is for.

Perfectly balanced specimen? More power to you my friend. Chances are you already do some of the exercises and drills I’m going to show everyone in part 2. Join us anyways and be my movement model!

Knowledge is the key to moving forward. We aren’t conducting peer reviewed double blind experiments here, but if you can’t use yourself as your life’s greatest experiment and keep notes accordingly what are you even doing? These are the sorts of activities people used to do when screens didn’t exist. Its through just this sort of curiosity and experiment that yoga was born.

We are at a temporal nexus of ancient and modern knowledge coalescing. Disparate practices with esoteric focal points are pooling resources to evolve new Gold Standards. Its an amazing time to be a mover. Today, we know more about moving and the human body than every before. I’m looking forward to part 2 where I will share some of the best tools around for creating happy joints and healthy tissue that I’ve found in the past ten years.

Questions and comments below 👇.

Thanks! 😊🙏

April book drop

The Kingdom of Copper

By: SA Chakraborty

Wow. The last quarter of the book is teeeeeeense. And there is no resolution. It ends in the middle of a huge cliff. Thankfully, I was able to go right on to the next one. As middle books in a trilogy goes, this was well done. Enough happened to feel like the action warranted dividing into three parts - this is being written from the perspective of having also finished the third book just a few weeks later. I’ll expand my review of the series in that break-down.

Summary Here

Tales of Beatrix Potter

By: Beatrix Potter

I find it a little off-putting to anthropomorphize animals and then to have them eating each other. For that reason these stories never really sit well with me. It feels like low-key cannibalism. For such well-beloved children’s stories I found them really rather grotesque. Just me? Vor seemed to enjoy them. Maybe there just weren’t that many books/children’s books back in the day and that is how this book gained such reknown but I didn’t find them endearing or loveable or really at all valuable in terms of teaching lessons even. Pass.

Note: The works in this book are presented in a lot of other books with similar names. This is the exact version I read.

Summary Here

Goodbye, Things

By: Fumio Sasaki

I really loved it. I’ve been minimal for years yet I still found this book both inspiring and useful. An ironic note, the list of tips for going minimal is NOT a minimal list.

Summary Here

The Goose Girl

By: Shannon Hale

I started listening to this with Vor and it was clear there was an impending dark turn. He wasn’t fully into the story anyway, so we paused and I finished on my own. My intuition was correct, there is a dark turn. It was not as insidious as I had feared, however. In the end this has a big character arc for the heroine and feels like a good read for the tween group. There are sequels. I probably will end up reading them eventually.

Summary Here

Peter Pan

By: JM Barrie

This was an Audible Original adaptation. It was very engaging for Vor but a far cry from staying true to canon. I feel like the title is misleading and should have been billed as being “based-on.” You know the story of Peter Pan. No need to elaborate.

Summary Here

Coyote America

By: Dan Flores

An unexpectedly interesting book. There was a depth and nuance to the information offered so that I never felt bored despite the deep dive into a specific subject matter. Narrative works well as a literary device to help the reader/listener stay invested in the overall arc of the book. Another free offering for Audible subscribers.

Summary Here

For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too

By Christopher Emdin

Damn. This book delivered. I think one of the biggest pitfalls of the social justice genre is that they are essentially self-help books for white people. It gets pretty repetitive. Especially, if you have read Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, etc etc to whom newcomers writing in this genre often can’t hold a candle. Their contributions are welcome but often come off as basic for people who have been invested in “doing the work,” for a long time. This however, phew. Is it narrative? Yes. Is it pointed? Yes. Is it also broadly applicable? Yup! Not only is this a critique of and solutions for white teachers entering into POC spaces, it is a brutal commentary on the epic failings of our education system. BUT! The thing is solutions exist. They are also deftly laid out in this book. Highly recommend.

Summary Here

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

By: Haruki Murakami

How does he do it? How did he write a book about a hobby/sport I have next to no interest/involvement in and make it interesting? He has a way about examining the minutae that gives his writing a perpetually fresh, familiar feeling. I just finished another Murakami book and it was no less detailed about no less mundane things yet it was still engrossing. This book is not quite so standard in the author’s style in that, there is always some central crux-point for his narrative works. And around that point Murakami weaves exquisite insights into mundanity/the human experience. Here its just - running. Running and life. Life and Running. A beautiful meander through the mind of a truly gifted writer and apparent multi-sport athlete. I Stan.

Summary Here

Midsummer’s Mayhem

By: Rajani LaRocca

The woman POC author I was looking for when I was duped by SA Chakraborty. JK, kinda. This was GREAT! I chose this book as a Mama-Vor book and it didn’t disappoint. The constant calls to A Midsummer Night’s Dream are of course lost on a 5-year-old but as I was hoping, the story was alive and substantive without any Shakespearian background. There’s magic, fae and BAKING! The author clearly knows her stuff. I think I can safely say, if you enjoy The Great British Baking Show you will enjoy this book. There are even recipes at the end! I enjoyed every bit of this scrumptious story (read it to get the inside joke).

Summary Here

Who We Are and How We Got Here

By: David Reich

A book about genetics. I found the first part of this book SOOOO boring. There was a lot of science info unanchored by meaningful real-world discussion or narrative. I think that was its failing. I was not in the right mindset to take it all in. Its one of those books I wish I had a hard copy of and would read slowly making annotations on the side. But in all honesty, I doubt I would have had the patience to make it to the last third. The last third of this book was great. It was everything it promised to be and didn’t deliver on in the first 2/3. The last bit of the book really dives into the current sociological and philosophical war that is going on in the field of genetics. I will let the author speak for himself on this as I found his writing to be profound.

“It is now undeniable that there are non-trivial average genetic differences across populations in multiple traits and the “race” vocabulary is too ill defined and too loaded with historical baggage to be helpful. If we continue to use it, we will not be able to escape the current debate which is mired in an argument between two indefensible positions. On the one side, there are beliefs about the nature of the differences that are grounded in bigotry and have little basis in reality. On the other side, there is the idea that any biological differences between populations are so modest that, as a matter of social policy, they can be ignored and papered over. It is time to move on from this paralyzing false dichotomy and to figure out what the genome is actually telling us.”

I’m impressed with Reich’s boldness and willingness to put himself in an unwinnable position. He is making friends on neither side of the aisle here and instead seems to really hold his idealistic ground. I find that admirable and impressive. Aside from the style/pacing of the book, my other critique is that author somewhat minces words on the topic of male genetic dominance. when one society takes over another men sexually assault and rape women, a fact that is never stated forthcomingly. I found that he was being realistic but way too kind in the way he was painting the picture.

Summary Here

The Empire of Gold

By: SA Chakraborty

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Ok, now that is out of the way. This is your last chance. I’m going in and I’m not holding back. You were warned.

GAAAAH. They did Dara so dirty!!! There is a little redemption for him at the end but the whole time I was just gritting my teeth at Ali and Nahri’s hypocrisy. Did Ali grow on me? Yes. Did I overall really like Nahri? Yes. But they still both pissed me TF off. Dara is hands down a tragic figure for the ages. By the way, I’m not structuring my thoughts on this trilogy because most of it is just me emoting and there’s no reason behind it.

Jamshid and Muntadir! Love. Would have really liked to have more Zaynb in the series. She was amazing. Queen Hatset also amazing. Sobek - such a cool concept. End of the day I want so much more from this world. I want to follow Dara to the ends of the Earth. I want to circle back to Ali and Nahri’s descendants and see how they interface with Dara and the slave rings. I want to know more about the Peri. There’s endless material here.

Surprises that made me happy: Nahri’s grandpa. I straight up did not see that coming. It was a great way to end on a positive note where so much else was tinged with sadness. Speaking of - Dara riding off into the sunset to gather slave rings and free the enslaved Djinn. It was the mature thing to do and so I begrudging accept it. Did I want he and Nahri to end up together? 100,000%. But in all honesty, they are both damaged goods and their love, though real, was also a tangle of trauma bonds. And he needed to go heal and she didn’t need to save him. Its a RuPaul moment. If Dara can’t love himself…

Final thoughts. Still angry the author is white. It means some POC writer somewhere who also could have written and published this story was displaced. I’m obsessed with this world and excited to see it come to screen on Netflix. There is SOOOO much room to cast this with actors who cover a wide range of skin tones and ethnicities. I’m am hoping desperately that they don’t white-wash everyone. Ugh. pleeeeease let them get it right!! I want more books. I would love to see Chakraborty team up with an actual author of color to flesh out some of the stories that are begging to be told. Overall I fell in love with this trilogy. And was happy to spend the 60+ hours of listening to see it through to the end.

Summary Here