Blog Post

ART THERAPY for your mental health

  • By Green Rocks Fitness
  • •
  • 27 Jul, 2016
  • •

“Expressive art therapy integrates all of the arts in a safe, non-judgmental setting to facilitate personal growth and healing. To use the arts expressively means going into our inner realms to discover feelings and to express them through visual art, movement, sound, writing or drama. This process fosters release, self-understanding, insight and awakens creativity and transpersonal states of consciousness.”
~Natalie Rogers  

Often times we face challenges in life where we have a need to communicate or somehow relate to others, but don't quite know how. Many people lack healthy ways of expressing, processing, and facing their issues and the emotions that rise as a result, which can lead to repression resulting in various addictions, and can sometimes also lead to outbursts, self harm and violence.


We need healthy ways of releasing our various emotions, and communicating our perceptions and experiences throughout life. Emotions are an inherent part of living, not to be invalidated, and various forms of art provide an outlet for that. 


Art also gives a voice to the vast expanse of the human imagination, whereby we are able to create things that are tangible and/or viewable which would otherwise remain in thought, either fleeting or relentlessly persisting in one's mind, looking for some a way to come out.

"To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed through words, so to convey this so that others may experience the same feeling - this is the activity of art."

"Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and the best feelings to which men have risen."

"The activity of art is... as important as the activity of language itself, and as universal." 

"Art is the uniting of the subjective with the objective, of nature with reason, of the unconscious with the conscious, and therefore art is the highest means of knowledge."
~Leo Tolstoy, "What is Art"

[1] "Art as Therapy" by Alain de Botton ►  http://bit.ly/2aeG3Su  
[2] A list of Arts ► http://bit.ly/2aqizcM
[3] Art as Therapy: Alain de Botton on the 7 Psychological Functions of Art ► http://bit.ly/29zldg1
[4] Image/artwork credit: Oleg Shuplyak 

Image: <a href="People">http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/people">People photograph designed by Pressfoto - Freepik.com</a>

By Amanda

Same way of thinking, Same Results

By Green Rocks Fitness • September 28, 2017
This is NOT a weight loss program. This is a health first, muscle building, HEALTHY SUSTAINABLE fat loss, NO REBOUND lifestyle program.

If you want to lose weight, go restrict your calories, over train doing cardio, be miserable, lose your period, forget your libido, feel like shit but be happy because you lost 10 pounds of ... muscle, tissue, bone and a little bit of fat. But in the process you created dysfunction, facilitated disease, and potentially will experience a rebound (more fat gain while having less muscle) in the near future.

Healthy muscle building focuses on fueling yourself with the appropriate foods that facilitate the metabolism, create muscle development, inspires healthy sustainable fat loss, health and wellbeing. BUT, this takes time. There is no time length because giving a timetable takes away from the health importance and a definitive length would be a lie. The time length is person specific on how committed they are and how long they have been living a certain way. You have years of behaviors, beliefs, habits, thoughts, lack of and bad eating built in and that takes time to reset, change, and form new habits.

Maybe start to open up to the idea that your way of eating, and living isn't serving you (based upon the results and where you are) and that maybe you should let go of that and listen to the advice of your coaches.

Let go of your old mentality because it has gotten you to this point, a point in which you don't like how you feel and look. So stop thinking your going to get the results you want by not changing the things you have been doing.

It is also time to put in the work. If you think you can half ass or be lazy with your nutrition/sleep and come in and just go through the motions working out and get the results you want, you're in for a rough time. It won't happen.

Let's slowly reverse what we have been doing and form new habits, new behaviors, new standards together. We have to be honest with each other and ourselves and until we are, don't expect to get anywhere other than where you have already been.

More Than Just Personal Training

By Green Rocks Fitness • September 3, 2017
The job of being a personal trainer is far more extensive and rewarding than just outlining exercises and counting reps. Here we discuss how!

Health First, Always!

By Green Rocks Fitness • July 23, 2017
Prioritizing health over superficial goals and ideals.

Praise Your Body

By Green Rocks Fitness • July 4, 2017
Practicing self-love, self-compassion and self-appreciation by praising our bodies for all of the incredible things they do for us.

Setting Up For Success 

By Green Rocks Fitness • June 26, 2017

“We Generate Fears While We Sit. We Overcome Them By Action.”
~Dr. Henry Link


Action  Changes  Things

I cannot say enough great things about working for Green Rocks Fitness! The environment, the staff/owner, and the awesome members/clients and people we interact and work with each day just make it all so great! The health and goals of our clients are as important to us as our very own! That's why we facilitate a space where we can both share and communicate valid information about health and fitness, as well as put it into practice through action! Change is not only dependent on having direction and purpose, but also on taking steps toward the manifestation of our goals into reality!

What do we mean when we say "Set Yourself Up For Success"?

For us, a typical morning starts off with waking up and eating breakfast. It is very important to start the day off with a balanced (tailored to your ratio demands of sugar, protein, and fat) breakfast, after fasting all night while sleeping! After breakfast, Melissa and I come to the Green Rocks Fitness office (located at  401 Shady Avenue G-100, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 in the Kenmawr Apartments building) where we work with clients, and work on the business by writing content, filming videos, and doing research to further help both our clients and ourselves. We have a refrigerator where we can store our refreshments and the food that we bring with us. This enables us to work longer without having to leave the premises to go eat, which as we have learned, really sets us up for progress with finishing tasks. When you are in the zone and really tackling projects, having to stop because you are really hungry puts a huge damper on productivity! As we educate and tell all of our clients, eating throughout the day is very important and should not be neglected when it comes to our health, wellbeing, and productivity!

Portable Burner and Mini-Oven

Sometimes we need or prefer to heat/cook certain foods! We purchased a mini-oven and intended to order a portable burner so that we can bring the food from home and have it stored in the office refrigerator.Problem solved! I was telling one of our clients this and she was so inspired by the idea of this whole concept that she purchased the burner for us right there on the spot. We were greatly surprised to say the least, and I couldn't thank her enough for her kind gesture! The people we work with and the sense of community we are building is truly amazing and special! This is exactly what we envision in our business, but I will talk more in-depth about that in another post. This burner allows us to cook food during our days at the office in order to stay properly fed and regulate our blood sugar throughout the day, while being able to stay at work for different tasks and projects. We would like to have a kitchen in our new storefront (in the future) so that we can provide these services to our clients, but I will talk more about that in my vision article!


Coffee and Tea Machine

Our clients are all about having coffee regularly, and rightfully so! Coffee, when used properly, offers many great benefits! Most people "do coffee" wrong, as we point out in our blog article, Benefits of Coffee. Most times, our clients get coffee from less than ideal sources, and the ingredients they put into the coffee is of poor quality. That is where a good thing turns into a bad thing! We offer good quality milk with the right types of sugars, and even mix in some gelatin  ( purchase here ) for some beneficial protein.

What does setting up for success mean to you?

Whether it is going to sleep 5 to 15 minutes earlier so that you can wake up with time to eat a good breakfast, or preparing foods in advance so that you aren't going long hours without eating, you can take steps using your foresight in order to prevent certain issues from arising and sabotaging your health/fitness goals!

Meal Prepping

Make time during the week to cook and prepare foods so that you don't have to suffer when those busy moments or days hit and you end up resorting to less than ideal meals (or no meals at all.) This can be beneficial for a multiple of reasons! These situations are stressful and can cause blood sugar dysregulation, resulting in sleepless nights (or waking up between 1-4 am,) cravings, irritability, depression, and reduced ability to handle situations, tasks and other stressors. Personally, it's relieving to know I have food already cooked and prepared! I know that if days get busy, or interrupted, I'll be okay knowing my food can be ready at a moments notice.

Summing up

If you know certain things will cause stress, or prevent you from doing what needs to be done, put yourself in a position to win! Set yourself up for success by taking the necessary precautions allowing you to stay on the path that you want to be on!  Action! Action! Action! I'll repeat it again... “We Generate Fears While We Sit. We Overcome Them By Action.” – Dr. Henry Link

This is something we help with for all of our clients! We offer guidance, as well as understanding, in all areas of health and wellness. This includes movement, nutrition, meal plans, mindset, motivation, and tips/tricks to stay the course. If you find yourself struggling in any one (or even all) of these areas, take action NOW and let us help you help yourself!

The Joy of Food

By Green Rocks Fitness • June 19, 2017
Enjoying the food we eat and the people we eat it with!

The Health Journey

By Green Rocks Fitness • June 12, 2017
Useful perspective(s) on the journey toward greater health.

Mussels for Muscles

By Green Rocks Fitness • June 5, 2017
Benefits of shellfish (including Mussels.)

One of My Favorite Biceps Routines

By Green Rocks Fitness • May 28, 2017
Tips for an effective biceps workout.

A Great Alternative to Barbell and Dumbbell Squats

By Green Rocks Fitness • April 22, 2017
Exercise Variation: Low Pulley Cable Squat

​WHO IS THIS EXERCISE FOR AND WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL?​

​This is a great movement for people who have a hard time squatting with a barbell or dumbbells due to poor flexibility, posture, or those who are scared of falling backwards. The cable helps counterbalance the weight of the individual, and can alleviate the fear of falling backwards. Because this variation alleviates the fear of falling backwards, the trainee can focus more on their muscles. This will result in better progress and development!

​WHY SQUATTING IS BENEFICIAL

Squatting is a full body exercise that burns calories, improves the development of your thighs and glutes dramatically, and (depending on the speed and intensity) can be used as a way to help reduce overall body fat.

TIPS:

1. OWN THE MOVEMENT: Never do an exercise with a weight that owns you! This means you are dictating the movement and in control at all times, performing the movement safely and targeting the muscles you want to target. Do not allow the weight to pull you forward without your consent.

​2. POSTURE: Always maintain adequate posture! When form breaks down too much or posture becomes defective, it opens up the door to a.) Less tension on the muscle being worked which results in less stimulation, which results further in a lack of development and b.) Susceptibility to injury.

​3. CONTRACT: Squeeze the muscles while performing the movement on both the way up and down. Squeeze your way up and down!

​4​. PUSH THE FLOOR AWAY FROM YOU: Instead of thinking of lifting yourself back up after you squat down, think of pushing the floor down away from you. This will help you contract your muscles more from the very start.

​5​. WHERE THE TOES GO, SO SHALL THE KNEES: Whether your feet are facing forward or turned outward, the knees should follow the foot path.

​6​. SQUAT DEPTH (HOW LOW SHOULD YOU GO): This depends on what muscles you are targeting and how low you can go while keeping tension on the muscles you want to focus on. If your focus is on quads, but you shift tension to your glutes so you can squat deeper, well this does nothing for your quads and your essentially resting them. Find your active full range of motion to ensure successful development of the muscles and safe injury free movement.

This movement can target the thighs more, or the glutes/hamstrings more, depending on the position of your torso (more upright versus more forward/bent over). In this video Melissa is performing the squat to target all of the muscles as a whole. The thighs, the glutes and the hamstrings. Her rear delts and upper back also get worked indirectly from her good posture and by keeping her shoulder blades retracted and chest up:  http://bit.ly/2pEVl82
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