Sam Sager

lots of people want to start exercising more in the new year but it can be daunting on where to start and how to approach it so it sticks my rec is to focus the first 30 days purely on enjoying it. here's why and how:

@BarrettABrooks thanks for sharing! it's super helpful to hear from other parents. the lack of breaks is def the biggest shifts. have started taking our little one for a daily walk in the woods and finding thats a nice way to recharge

Can definitely relate. We were less stressed about parenting the second one, but the workload and exhaustion were greater with the two of them. My wife would often nap with the youngest and then I’d still be on with the toddler with no break. I remember thinking: shit, this is not good. There’s no break in the day! (Compared to when there was one and he napped every afternoon)

We're just past two months with our second kid, so I wanted to reflect while the experience is fresh. In many ways, the transition has been harder than going from 0 to 1. While that's a bigger change, the early days with two have been way more physically exhausting. Supporting a toddler and infant at the same time is grueling. it's been harder to create space to recharge (especially for my wife). and more challenging to find a rhythm or routine. our older daughter has adjusted well but it's still a huge change. the times that are hardest for her are when he needs attention, resulting in some moments of comical chaos at the same time I've found it easier to enjoy some of the early milestones knowing how transient everything is. and seeing the two of them interact just hits different. watching our toddler talking and laughing with her little brother is more magical than I imagined. There's also this felt sense of our family becoming more of a squad... with more dynamics and more complexity but also more love all in all the whole thing is both far more challenging and more beautiful than i expected

@WaysYouCanStay appreciate it! a coffee or a walk in the woods sometime soon would be nice. will hit you up. sunchokes are doing well! made a few mishaps in where I put them (forgot a few areas were mostly dormant vines) but thankfully you hooked me up with a ton

@movebettersam mmm well said. this is one of those statements that i could spend a full hour asking you to elaborate on and we'd likely have just scratched the surface haha

one lesson i keep having to relearn with stretching and mobility is that it's often more effective to focus on extending the range that you can fully relax into versus just forcing your body to the end range of motion

@DRHaswell im curious how much you think this is also connected to type of meditation i struggled a lot with meditation at first but things shifted when i switched from concentration techniques to somatic and open-awareness practices was also exploring parts so lots of confounds

Meditation, by itself, made me more and more miserable for 7 years... until I discovered IFS. Now both are multipliers of the other. Meditation & IFS are like PB&J -- supporting both healing & awakening.

many ways to play with this like: - using breath - contract and relax techniques (PNF) - awareness of antagonist muscles (quad vs. hamstring) feels slower but always surprises me how much softening into the movement seems to unlock greater capacity

@the_wilderless banger of a quote. always impressed me how much range Martha Beck has had in her writing/books

The extent to which people will defy nature to serve culture can be truly horrifying. - Martha Beck

@andrewglynch @p_millerd i loved conspiracy. trust me i'm lying was great too and 10 years ahead of its time. i wonder if a lot of it is that he has systems that do a better job at continually promoting the stoicism books i hope he writes more books like these that go deeper into other topics/styles

@p_millerd Ironically he’s also written some fantastic non-stoicism books that don’t seem to get much love Conspiracy Daily Dad Perennial Seller All bangers, but people seem to want him to (stoically) stick to his lane

People underestimate how deep you can go in things. I’ve heard people say “how much can Ryan holiday write about the stocks”. But many things are like this. People just don’t go all that deep.

@_StevenFan love it! are you going wood-fired or electric? if you ever want to nerd out on sauna design and löyly, you gotta hit up @redefined_life

Planning my backyard sauna

@schlaf @Zoom every day im more and more committed to a barbell strategy around this using zoom/tech to connect with great people around the world and prioritizing in-person experiences

I appreciate @Zoom. It lets me support clients worldwide from the Hudson Valley. However, the more time I spend on Zoom, the more I realize my desire to design a future filled with in-person coaching, retreats, and experiences. A new and exciting vision is emerging.

@cecile_mcm congrats Cecile! cool to see you distill all of your experiences and pull others together in one place

Looks like I’m launching Thinking of a Sabbatical* tomorrow! 2 years in the making 3 months of dedicated work 7 well structured chapters 8 thoughtful speakers 210 mins of guidance and stories And the first product I put out there as a self-employed human Wish me luck 🍀

@BarrettABrooks can see that since it's the one thing that's tough to fake it's a shame most of the landscaping done in housing developments today just optimizes for immediate curb appeal. really makes you appreciate the people who planted those majestic trees 50+ years ago

I’m convinced the type and maturity of street trees is the single greatest factor in shaping the character of a neighborhood. Closely followed by architectural style and taste. Then by accessibility of amenities by foot/bike.

@rickfoe i bet seeing them interacting and playing only gets more fun my wife and i joke that the 2nd one has felt like 5x easier than the first in terms of caring for them individually but that the combo feels at least 5x harder

@sc_sager For me, the 2nd was easier than the 1st, but 2 is harder than 1. That said, 2 kids is a lot more fun when they can start playing together (around when the 2nd hits 2 yrs old).

@heynibras don't think any of these are silver bullets but rather any simple routine that you. enjoy and find relaxing will help transition into a state that welcomes sleep and finding enjoyment in these little things have made it easier for me to not want to use phone at night

@heynibras can relate to the phone piece. a few other things that have helped me create conditions for sleep: - warm shower - myofascial release/self-massage - light stretching - reading fiction - eating earlier in night - supplements (mainly magnesium) - candles/limiting lights

open-sourcing sleep troubles: i've been struggling to fall asleep for a week+. i feel tired by evening but can't fall asleep till the 'am main culprit is using my phone, especially when i try to sleep but can't. i also assume there's underlying emotion i'm avoiding what to do?

@m_ashcroft it does make me wonder.... is our jaw tight because we've been gripping to life for 30+ years or have we been gripping to life for 30+ years because our jaws are stuck in a gripping-to-life shape

@sc_sager I feeling like I’ve been working on 2 for forever so maybe 1 would be a useful addition I can continue to work on 2 of course

okay, I need your best jaw release / relaxation tips my jaws are incessantly tight and I grind my teeth at night (I wear a mouth guard) what can I do? (I already take magnesium, it does not help)

@m_ashcroft makes sense. imo it's a very somatic and imaginal type of bodywork one session i had a vivid experience of reliving when i hit my head on the bottom of a pool as a little kid which i'd completely forgotten about

@sc_sager yeah I can see how that might work if it’s emotional stuff then it feels like stuff that is further down in conscious awareness so I am struggling to identify it

@m_ashcroft said as a former person with the exact same situation. ironically #1 seems to have helped me make a lot of progress on number #2 (still a work in progress) so funny how the bodymind works

@m_ashcroft two options (#1 is dramatically easier) 1) find a great craniosacral therapist to work on your face/neck to slowly release decades of stored tension 2) methodically identify and unwind all areas of your life (past, present, future) where you are controlling/gripping.