Nov 2006
Harnessing the Power of Menopause to Skate BetterA testimonial by 57-year-old Jammin' student Ruby Thomas
There is a feeling that though you are a wife, daughter, mother or grandmother, you are an individual with needs to address. My need was to find an exercise I could live and mature with. Skating filled the bill. I could do it without waiting for someone and pick up and leave when I got ready. I could zoom around working up a good sweat or keep time with the music as I pleased. It made me feel so good. (I later found out that the body forms pleasure hormones called endorphins during exercise). Remember now, I was no longer in my prime but was staying fit due to my regularity in skating and my willingness to put sweat equity into my hormone regulator. After thirty ladies, let's face it, we have to work at what we once took for granted. At fifty years old, menopause came out with big guns blazing leaving me with hot flashes day and night like I had just run marathon races; I was drenched in sweat, irritated and depressed. The body mourns the loss of the childbearing hormones leaving depression in its wake. I found what beats depression is determination and I would not stop skating. I found out that childhood lung problems were impairing my ability to breathe and I was losing stamina. The doctor told me I had asthma along with sleep apnea (a sleep disorder that blocks breathing). I started to bump into furniture like an adolescent child. What was happening to my reflexes? Menopause causes balance and reflex problems due to the softening of every ligament of your body. Missteps, slipping and falling become real dangers. The fire of the body metabolism starts to go out. I felt like my body was starting to fall apart but was I going to give up skating? Fortunately the Jammin Technique** as taught by Bill Butler was available to me at just the right time. It has helped me to beat back the symptoms of menopause to a great extent. In what areas you may ask? I have been taught how to stop to avoid accidents by using cutting skills, various stops and plows. With the use of body contortions, The Technique has strengthened my reflex reactions to skating conditions on the floor and my balance has been normalized. My metabolism has accelerated, burning calories again and I was taught breathing techniques while skating and the correct use of exhalation. This has subdued my asthma symptoms and has expanded my lung capacity. Oxygen is what fires up metabolism and increases stamina and I've seen steady increases, therefore, more burn time. I'm also seeing increased overall muscle tone from The Technique. It has taken me to another level in my ability to skate to the music; to dance-skate single, pairs, trios etc., and to communicate with my skate partners through my hand, commanding my own space. I am fighting menopause with skating and The Technique has given me the tools! - Genuine Ruby -
This testimonial is entirely the opinion of the writer
(NOTE: Prior to meeting and training with Bill, Ruby was featured as RST's Skater of the Month. Read about her work as the founder of Essential Sister Network which was spotlighted in that Apr/May 2003 feature.) - Posted 11/29/06 - |
Bill
has selected Ruby Thomas as his 2006 “Jamma of
the Year” for her dedication, determination and her overall
positive spirit and aura. She has been a student of The Technique
since late 2005 and will be part of the “For the Love of Skating” Jammin'
weekend in Denver, May 25-27, 2007 as a performer and also a workshop presenter.
In her “skateformational” workshop, she will share more about the topic
of this testimonial which will be beneficial to women as well as any men
who would like to attend. Stay tuned to the