The View From My Cave

I feel a little better today. More tests are needed but my doctor thinks I’m gonna survive.

Since my illness, I have been hibernating inside my cave so I feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up to a different world. Seems like I haven’t opened my email for weeks. I glimpse at the headlines and popular videos and here’s a random list of what I observe. See if you agree with me.

Media hasn’t changed. Biased reporting and omission are still the same in both sides of American politics. Now that Trump is no longer around, there’s not a lot of shouting (although I hear a little tweak from his small corner in the world). Late night talk is boring (although they try their best to be sensational). Some dare poke fun at Pres. Biden sleeping and falling down the stairs but I want to know how he is really doing. I heard he’s going to build a trillion dollar government infrastructure. That should be good, right? I wonder why VP Kamala is laughing a lot when she is confronted with some serious questions. Isn’t she supposed to be the border czar? Why do I see droves of illegals crossing the border (thousands everyday I heard) … many children in cages? Are they infected? Are they getting vaccinated before the American citizens? I notice gas price is a dollar more than last year. Weren’t we oil independent? Weren’t we even exporting oil? Is it at the expense of Climate Change? Didn’t everybody (from both sides) hate Governors Cuomo and Newsom? What’s the secret to their staying power?

I heard George Floyd’s killer (I could never remember his name) is declared guilty. Last year it was all about White violence against the Blacks. This year it’s about Asian violence … funny that they’re afraid to mention the race that is doing most of the violence. There’s a sale in Aldi’s — blueberries for 99 cents a pack! There are lots of toilet paper! Whoopie! Our butts are saved! The education system is finally holding in-person classes. My grand kids are happy. The restaurants are finally open. I wish I could say the same for other businesses. Many shops around me are bankrupt. The shopping malls are still empty. Local air travel is available. The stock market is in a roller coaster ride. Investment forecasters are contradicting each other. Where do you invest?

Covid in the US is dwindling down but not in Asia including the Philippines, India, Japan and more. There, life has gone from bad to worse as doctors and nurses are dying. The rest are scrambling for less effective vaccines — and they’re even paying good money for it! “It’s better than nothing,” they say. I’m praying for them. There’s a civil war in Myanmar — what a mess! China is extending its borders in the South China sea and about to swallow Taiwan. American battleships are floating close by. Russia is about to pounce on Ukraine. With no restriction, Iran is getting closer to developing their nuclear weapons. Israel has launched several attacks for their survival. Poor Prince Philip passed away but Queen Liz is still alive and kicking. Meanwhile in Hollywood … nah! … who cares about Hollywood?!

Are my perceptions accurate? Am I missing something? You guys decide if things are good or bad. I’m  crawling back to my cave to sleep. Wake me when the war’s over.

TGIF People!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Rodney was one of my closest friends. He was very creative and he would make up his own jokes. Here is one of his jokes.

Video of the Week

Thanks to Don who shared this sad, sad video

Parting Shots

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Mel of Washington D.C.

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA

The post 5 Deadly Sins appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Flow is Low

When was the last time you gave blood? This is a question especially to the Universal Blood Donors out there.  There is a blood shortage. I’m serious. In this age of high tech everything, no one had developed artificial blood yet. The Red Cross needs your blood.

Did you know that the greatest source of blood donors is the High School? Unfortunately, ever since the school lock-down, only the “oldies” have been the constant blood donors. In all the years I’ve donated blood, I must have seen less than a handful of teenagers giving blood. Wouldn’t it be so unfair if the blood supply runs out for the people who have given so much of their blood?

I’m donating blood this morning. Will you consider doing the same?

Here is a cool website that explains the different blood types: RED CROSS BLOOD

I’m tired. Wish I could, but today I have no clever ideas to dazzle and stimulate your mind (as if I ever did) except to say that:
a little prick,
a few minutes drip,
will bloody save someone sick.

TGIF people!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA and Don of Kelowna, BC for sharing these puns.

Video: Grown Man’s First Injection

Thanks to Ed of the Philippines

Video: Life Story of Mr. Bean

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Video: Transforming into Mona Lisa

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.
This Chinese lady dabs on makeup to turn into a living masterpiece. She has other videos where she transforms into other famous people.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Mel of Washington, D.C.

Thanks to Betty of Australia

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA for the last 3 gags.

The post More Amazing Puns appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Covid Survivor

It was the second sleepless night for my sister. What started as a mild fever had escalated to a classic case of Covid 19. Her doctor was no help. He was textbook-trained but he had no first-hand experience with the disease. Sis couldn’t sleep in a normal postion because of the constriction in her lungs. She was told to lay on her stomach but that didn’t work. Standing up was not a solution either. How can you sleep while standing up? Heading for a third night of difficulty she got a phone call from my daughter (a nurse who works in the red zone). My daughter told her about flowler’s position — sleeping at an angle. (SEE DIAGRAM). That’s what saved the day…. (I mean) the night. Later on, my daughter gave her more tips that led to her full recovery. I’m so glad for my sister’s health and so proud of my daughter. You can read my sister’s full testimony as well as her husband’s at TravelingBoy.com. Pass this on. This may save someone’s life.

I’d like to salute our frontliners in this pandemic. I can only speak about my daughter but I’m sure this is the routine of every frontliner. She’s on her feet all day wearing her full plastic armor of face mask, plastic shield, cap and gloves. She trained herself not to scratch her nose or wipe her eyes. There are 60 doctors and nurses where she works. Despite their precaution, only my daughter and 2 other nurses have not yet had Covid. (I guess masks are good but it is the vaccines that are the game changers). She goes home after a full shift but she does not enter the house yet. She has to change in the garage, wrap her scrubs in a bag, go inside to take a bath. Only then, can she hug her kids and her husband.

You are blessed if you live here in America. The vaccines have reached millions already. Infection rates have dipped. My heart goes out to many more countries that still wait for the vaccines to arrive on their shores. Americans get the dosage free. In other countries people have to purchase it (if they are available at all). At least there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel. Let’s continue to pray for this generation.

TGIF people!

Raoul

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
 his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
 great is your faithfulness.  — Lamentation 3:22-23

BTW, if you need an oximeter, please let me know. A subscriber of my TGIF emails bought one and was given a spare. He is selling the other one cheap.

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA for sharing this pun.

Video: Aging Wife

Thanks to Lee of Alhambra, CA and Craig of Texas

Video: Dolly Parton’s Assault

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Erratum: According to Snopes, last week’s video of a VW Korea Flying car was fake. Sorry about that. Thanks to Rey of Simi Valley, CA for pointing it out to me.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tony of Los Angeles, CA

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Thanks to Naomi of North Hollywood, CA

The post Amazing Puns appeared first on Traveling Archive.

I Love Lucid

I’m no dream expert but I watched a video (Thoughty2) that explained what lucid dreams are about. The host said that you can actually tap a high potential of your mind when you reach that sleep stage. It’s the place where a fountain of ideas come from. It’s where the outliers in your thought patterns solve problems you could not otherwise accomplish in your waking moments. I hope that what I share today will make you aware of your hidden super power.

Most of the time, we don’t know we are dreaming. But there are golden opportunities when we do know. This explains why I’ve solved programming problems, composed songs, designed logos, remembered people and places when I was half awake. Ever since I watched that video I have been consciously looking out for that “lucid moment” (where I am conscious I am in a dream) and I try and solve problems or brainstorm with myself. Of course the biggest problem is remembering what transpired when I wake up. I do try to jot down these ideas in a little notebook.

Not all dreams are serious. I had a most enjoyable dream last night. I watched some clever and humorous animations just before I went to bed and that set the stage of my dream. I don’t remember a lot but the last dream sequence showed the importance of accents in a dramatic movie. In my dream, I was approaching God’s throne MGM style. There was a glorious choir of angels in the background. The clouds parted and this blinding light flashed in front of me. Then I heard a thundering voice with a strong Italian accent:
“Bow down!  I ema yo-ra Gaaad!”

That just killed the moment. And I couldn’t stop laughing. Why an Italian accent? I don’t know. It was my lucid mind who wrote the script. Isn’t it fascinating how our brains can keep the rest of our body in suspense?

Don’t miss your opportunity. Remember, Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream and he saved humanity. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream and changed American culture. What’s your lucid dream? Instead of molehills, why not climb the mountaintop?

TGIF people!

Raoul

“Don’t put limits on yourself. Not every dream will come true, and not every dream is from God. But when your dreams connect with God’s plans, you’ll find open doors that you never thought you’d see.” – Max Lucado

“We are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus, so the good that He planned for us a long time ago may become our way of life.” — Ephesians 2:10

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Chuck of Whittier, CA for sharing this pun.

Video: Sophisticated Dancing Boy

Thanks to Mel of Washington, D.C. for this confident little fella.
He’s gonna break a lot of hearts when he grows older.

Video: VW Korea’s Flying Car

Thanks to Naomi of N Hollywood, CA for this sci-fi technology that blew my mind.
What’s really amazing is it’s already into production.
This is gonna give Tesla a run for its money.

The Latest In Personal Transportation. Can you imagine a million of these on the road? This is real. Prototypes have been delivered to several Asian countries. It’s made by VW in Korea. It will be in Europe and Asia by the end of 2022. In addition, it doesn’t use magnets….It uses ducted air jets.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Mel of Washington, DC

Thanks to Debbie of Moreno Valley, CA
Not a joke but it makes you wonder what our pets are thinking.

Another one from Debbie

Last one from Debbie

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Last one from Tom of Pasadena, CA

The post Off Color Joke appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Other Ones

In a few days is Valentines day so let’s talk about relationships. Obviously, my wife is the most important person in my life. When I cook a meal, I always give her the best part. She may not even realize this and that’s not important to me. Making her happy is. If that isn’t love, what is?

But I confess I have another relationship going right now… two of them. I spend more hours with them than I do with my wife. They’re constantly with me everyday. When I close my eyes to sleep, they’re there. When I open my eyes, they’re there. My wife knows this. She doesn’t mind. She’s understanding this way. Actually, she was the one who brought them into my life. I warned her that something like this was going to happen but she insisted. Maybe she knew someone at my age needed something she could not provide. I told her the reason I didn’t want them was because I would get too attached and… well, it’s too late now.

When my wife goes to work, it’s just me… and them! Many times I’m in the middle of my work I can sense them beckoning for attention. Sometimes the temptation is so great I give in. Okay… okay… yes, I’m weak. I give in.

A simple touch, a simple massage and they are assured of my affection. Often, I tell them to let me go do my work but they want more of my touch… especially the little one.

And they’re very jealous. Whenever the phone rings, that’s when they decide to break their silence and compete with the person on the other line. “Can you please be quiet!” I shout. But they’re not that smart. They look at me quizzically wondering why I’m adding to the noise.

Life has never been the same. I’ve learned to live with the guilt of spending too much time with them. My wife knows I spend more time with them. The three cats know I spend more time with them.

But time is never enough for the two. What can you expect from Tonka and Tinker? They’re just two dogs.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Chinese New Year!

TGIF people!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. for sharing this joke.

Video: My Husband’s Guilty

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. for this amusing court video.
There’s a lesson at the end for you husbands.

Video: Everyone Should Have an Elephant

Thanks to Naomi of N Hollywood, CA for this cute video

Video: Extraordinary Man

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA
Art is a Singaporean American who is proud of his motherland. LKY was a true leader — country first before self. We need more like him.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Ding of Vancouver, B.C.

Thanks to Mel of Washington, DC.

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA

Another one from Peter Paul

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

The post You’re an EXTREME Redneck When…. appeared first on Traveling Archive.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Doctor

Over two years ago I had pain coming from my lower abdomen. I started to wear a stomach belt hoping it would eventually go away. Wrong! On my next checkup, my doctor felt the bulge and told me I had a hernia — a hole in my stomach. If you have been reading my TGIF joke email for a while, you might recall I shared my appointment with Doc Hollywood who put a mesh on that sucker. This is a follow up story.

The operation went well. Unfortunately, the pain returned after the anesthesia wore off. My doctor said my discomfort was normal and that the pain would go away after a few weeks. Months rolled by but the pain got worse and I went back to wearing that stomach brace.

I went back to my regular doctor who felt the same hernia plus another one on the other side of my stomach — “you have a double hernia!” he declared. He said I should get an ultrasound before the surgery.

Because of the Covid situation, I never had the appointment made until a few weeks ago. All the while, the pain was on my side and I was wearing this band around my mid section for fear that hole would tear all the way open.

At the ultra sound room, the two attendants jabbed their probe up, down and side to side around my belly It took almost an hour. All the while I’m pointing where the pain was but all the while also wondering why it didn’t hurt anymore.

Back at home, I’m telling my wife I didn’t feel any pain anymore … maybe I should cancel the surgery. She looked at me strangely. The next day I get a confirmation from the doctor who analyzed the ultra sound images.

“I don’t know what to tell you Mr. Pascual … I do not see any hernia.”

“Doc, you may be right because I don’t feel any pain anymore.”

He couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t explain it. Dare I say I experienced a miracle?

The Pharisees (the religious leaders) asked the the blind man:  “how can this Jesus, a sinner who did not follow our religious laws, perform a miracle that made you see?” It was illogical, unbelievable, impossible. All the blind man could say was “I was blind but now I see.” (John 9)

I have no explanation. “I had a hernia … but now it’s gone.”

Miracles still exist. There is no formula. It is nothing we can boast of. God just gifts it to us. Please don’t minimize the miracles in your life. When we recognize these heavenly presents, we gain a greater understanding of how amazing HE is and how undeserving WE are. Count your blessings (your family, your work, your health … I’m sure there are a lot of them), bask in his warm embrace and share your joy and give hope to those who need it. We have an awesome God.

TGIF people!

Raoul

“Jesus said ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ ”  — John 9:39

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. for sharing this joke.

Video: It’s Friday Mufasa

Thanks to Maling of New Manila, Philippines
I never saw someone so happy that it’s Friday.

Video: Getting a Room

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, BC for this very quick video

Parting Shots

Thanks to Mel of Washington, DC

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA

Another one from Peter Paul

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

The post It Snowed this Morning appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Creatives

Don Draper (not his real name) has been one of my TGIF subscribers since forever. I’ve wanted to have lunch with him every time I would go to New York but my schedule was usually too tight. Fortunately, a few days ago, I had such an opportunity and Don treated me and my wife to a scrumptious Italian feast. I knew he was in the ad business but I didn’t know he was that good. Being in the ad business myself, it was particularly fun to exchange notes.

When I mentioned the TV series, Mad Men, he scoffed at the shenanigans the writers depicted as far from his reality. What was real though was how competitive the ad business is. No matter how good you are, there is no assurance of faithful clients. Sadly, it is common for even the large companies to steal ideas/concepts from creatives who present their “marketing pitches.” And the field is getting more competitive because new technologies change the landscape dramatically and new “guns” crop up everyday. Don, who is also an art professor, confirmed my beliefs about the politics of some schools who treat their students more as customers and were more interested in providing “fun” rather than an education.

With so much uncertainty in a “creative” career, why do so many people pursue it? One Broadway play,  “Chorus Line,” has a banner song entitled “What I did for Love.” The lyrics truly encompass the rationale behind an irrational quest. Artists/creatives pursue their uphill dreams for the love of art and not for money. Of course Steve Jobs was one amazing creative who was also gifted with an uncanny business sense.

If you are a creative, you know exactly what I am talking about. And if you know of one, on behalf of the creatives of the world, please treat your artists well. Feed them right. Don’t take advantage of them. Pay them what they’re worth. Encourage their ideas to flow. In a drab template-driven world of logic and business, creatives are the special sauce that gives the dish that amazing flavor. Artists are the spice of life. Their imagination and talent can help you reach the stars.

TGIF people!

“When I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion, then I go out and paint the stars. ” — Vincent Van Gogh

Announcement: If you are in the Temple City, CA area tomorrow, Saturday Oct.27, I volunteered to do caricatures at the pre-Halloween event of the Temple City Baptist Church starting at 4pm. There is no charge.

Some helpful links I googled for creatives: Article in Entrepreneur magazine(mostly for performing arts), Graphics, Negotiate Your Salary, etc.

Joke of the Week

Part 2 of Witty Sayings By Phyllis Diller

Shared by Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Videos of the Week

Crazy Cheap Asian
Sent by Art of Sierra Madre, CA

This is a parody of the famous movie. There are actually people like this. My Dad’s side of the family is famous for this.

WATCH VIDEO

Crazy Body Stretching
Sent by Don of Kelowna, B.C.

My back started to ache just watching this. I was surprised to find that there are a lot of these contortionists in Youtube. I wonder if they ever get back pains.

WATCH VIDEO

Don’s Puns

From Don’s collection of puns

Parting Shot

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. who shared this photo

The post Phyllis Dillerisms Part 2 appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

He meant so much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home. He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin’s drawings of his muddy, exhausted, whisker-stubbled infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.

Mauldin was an enlisted man just like the soldiers for whom he drew; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs their laughs, his heartaches their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him.

He never held back. Sometimes, when his cartoons cut too close for comfort, superior officers tried to tone him down. In one memorable incident, he enraged Gen. George S. Patton, who informed Mauldin he wanted the pointed cartoons celebrating the fighting men, lampooning the high-ranking officers to stop. Now!

The news passed from soldier to soldier. How was Sgt. Bill Mauldin going to stand up to Gen. Patton? It seemed impossible.

Not quite. Mauldin, it turned out, had an ardent fan: Five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, SCAFE, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. Ike put out the word: “Mauldin draws what Mauldin wants.” Mauldin won. Patton lost.

If, in your line of work, you’ve ever considered yourself a young hotshot, or if you’ve ever known anyone who has felt that way about him or herself, the story of Mauldin’s young manhood will humble you. Here is what, by the time he was 23 years old, Mauldin had accomplished:

He won the Pulitzer Prize and was on the cover of Time magazine. His book “Up Front” was the No. 1 best-seller in the United States.

All of that at 23. Yet, when he returned to civilian life and grew older, he never lost that boyish Mauldin grin, never outgrew his excitement about doing his job, never big-shotted or high-hatted the people with whom he worked every day.

I was lucky enough to be one of them. Mauldin roamed the hallways of the Chicago Sun-Times in the late 1960s and early 1970s with no more officiousness or air of haughtiness than if he was a copyboy. That impish look on his face remained.

He had achieved so much. He won a second Pulitzer Prize, and he should have won a third for what may be the single greatest editorial cartoon in the history of the craft: his deadline rendering, on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial, slumped in grief, its head cradled in its hands. But he never acted as if he was better than the people he met. He was still Mauldin, the enlisted man.

During the late summer of 2002, as Mauldin lay in that California nursing home, some of the old World War II infantry guys caught wind of it. They didn’t want Mauldin to go out that way. They thought he should know he was still their hero.

Gordon Dillow, a columnist for the Orange County Register, put out the call in Southern California for people in the area to send their best wishes to Mauldin. I joined Dillow in the effort, helping to spread the appeal nationally, so Bill would not feel so alone. Soon, more than 10,000 cards and letters had arrived at Mauldin’s bedside.

Better than that, old soldiers began to show up just to sit with Mauldin, to let him know that they were there for him, as he, so long ago, had been there for them. So many volunteered to visit Bill that there was a waiting list. Here is how Todd DePastino, in the first paragraph of his wonderful biography of Mauldin, described it:

“Almost every day in the summer and fall of 2002, they came to Park Superior nursing home in Newport Beach, California, to honor Army Sergeant, Technician Third Grade, Bill Mauldin. They came bearing relics of their youth: medals, insignia, photographs, and carefully folded newspaper clippings. Some wore old garrison caps. Others arrived resplendent in uniforms over a half-century old. Almost all of them wept as they filed down the corridor like pilgrims fulfilling some long-neglected obligation.”

One of the veterans explained to me why it was so important: “You would have to be part of a combat infantry unit to appreciate what moments of relief Bill gave us. You had to be reading a soaking wet Stars and Stripes in a water-filled foxhole and then see one of his cartoons.”

Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Last month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a first-class postage stamp. It’s an honor that most generals and admirals never receive.

What Mauldin would have loved most, I believe, is the sight of the two guys who keep him company on that stamp.

Take a look at it.

There’s Willie. There’s Joe.

And there, to the side, drawing them and smiling that shy, quietly observant smile, is Mauldin himself. With his buddies, right where he belongs. Forever.

What a story, and a fitting tribute to a man and to a time that few of us can still remember. But I say to you youngsters, you must most seriously learn of, and remember with respect, the sufferings and sacrifices of your fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers in times you cannot ever imagine today with all you have. But the only reason you are free to have it all is because of them.

I thought you would all enjoy reading and seeing this bit of American history!

Dormant Butt Syndrome May Be Causing Hip and Knee Pain

Courtesy Alycea Ungaro, PT, MS

Too much time at the computer? Knee pain? Hip tightness? Low back issues?

According to research, the problem just might be your butt. More specifically, it may be what scientists are calling “dormant butt syndrome.” It might seem crazy that your problems could be traced back to your rump. Except that it may very well be exactly that.

The Science Behind Dormant Butt Syndrome

Experts have backed up that dormant butt syndrome is real, and while the label is unattractive sounding, it does neatly sum things up. The syndrome is defined as weak buttocks and tight hip flexors.

Experts at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center worked with patients suffering from knee, hip, or back injuries and now believe that many of these issues are linked to your butt. According to Chris Kolba, P.T., weak buttocks fail to absorb the shock they should during activity, which results in overloading the rest of the joints and can lead to injury. How does this happen? Most often with inactivity, such as sitting for long periods. But dormant butt syndrome can also happen in runners and other active people who simply don’t address this area.

Exercises to Ward Off Dormant Butt

The exercises to target your gluteals and ward off dormant butt are a body of moves identified as hip extension exercises. This is the movement that results from bringing your thigh bone backward in space behind your pelvis. When you walk properly, the back leg should execute hip extension naturally, but poor posture, excessive sitting, and habitually dysfunctional biomechanics mean that many of us walk without achieving optimal hip extension. In turn, the gluteal muscles never get to work and you end up with a series of painful problems.

Thankfully, Pilates can address your gluteals with some tried and true exercises you should have in your toolbox to stave off a potentially dormant butt. Proper Pilates is done with attention to the order, repetition, and variation, so some of these moves have been adjusted to address this particular goal.

Exercise # 1: Swimming

Prep: Lie face down on an exercise mat, arms stretched out in front of you and legs long underneath you. Raise your head and look straight ahead of you. Lift the arms and legs in one motion, keeping them long and lengthened. Support your back by pulling up the abdominals.

Action: Lift the right arm and left leg higher and then briskly start paddling the arms and legs in a swimming motion. Your limbs will alternate as you control your torso. Keep the trunk of the body still and breathe fully and deeply as you go. Swim for a count of 20, then rest and repeat to build strength.

Want more? Perform 3 sets of swimming with a rest in between, but slow the tempo for each set. On each successive set, count to 20 more slowly forcing your arms and legs to work bigger and higher.

Exercise #2: Hamstring Curls

Prep: Lay as you did in the swimming, face down on your exercise mat. Layer your hands one atop the other to create a cushion for your forehead. Bend both knees so your feet point up towards the ceiling. Let your knees be slightly apart, but draw the heels together.

Action: Squeeze the heels together and tuck your tail under, tightening the gluteal muscles. Hold for 3, then release your buttocks. Repeat 10 times and then rest.

Want more? Adding on from the step above. squeeze the heels, tuck your tail under tightening the seat muscles, and then lift the knees and thighs off the mat. Hold for a count of 3 and then lower the thighs to the mat. Repeat 10 times and then rest.

Exercise #3: Shoulder Bridge

Prep: Lie on your back face up on an exercise mat. Bend your knees and place your feet flat, parallel, and just narrower than hip-width apart. The arms are long by your sides and the abdominals are drawn inward and upward.

Action: Press your hips up, creating one long line from your shoulders to your knees. Shift your weight into your heels, digging them down under you to help propel your hips upward. Hold for a count of 10. Lower your hips with control, then repeat twice more for a total of 3 sets.

Want more? You can vary this exercise and the intensity by making this simple change. Perform the first set as above. When you lower your hips, walk your feet a step further away from you and then perform the second set. Before the third and final set, walk your feet yet another step away from the body. It will be harder to lift the hips and you may not get up nearly as high but do your best.

Exercise #4: Leg Pull Up

Prep: Sit tall on your mat with your legs together in front of you. Place your hands just behind your backside on the mat with your fingers pointing forward if possible.

Action: In one movement, elevate your hips. Keep your head up so you can look straight ahead of you. As you balance on your hands and feet, press the legs tightly together and aim to get the hips high enough that you create one long line with your body, from shoulders down to the feet. Hold for a count of 10. Lower and repeat two more times for a total of 3 sets.

Want more? If you’ve mastered the first variation, try it with one leg. For just one of the three sets, try extending one leg up to the ceiling and holding for 5 counts before switching legs.

Exercise #5: Stand Up Straight

Prep: Our standing posture is key to how we use our buttocks. The wall series is the solution. Find a wall and stand tall against it from your heels to the back of your head.

Action: Hold your posture against the wall working the backs of your legs and the length of your spine as firmly into the wall as possible. Work to get the back of your skull into the wall as well. Add some abdominal work by drawing your waistline inward and upward. Hold for up to one minute.

Want more? The alignment you achieved standing at the wall is how you want to hold your body all day. As you move off of the wall, work to maintain that posture throughout your daily life. Repeat the wall exercise several times a day for added benefits.

Closing Thoughts

If hip, back, or knee pain are part of your daily struggles, working on your rump may be the magic pill you’ve been seeking. The cosmetic benefits alone are worth the effort and you may well reduce what ails you in the process. Use this routine daily to ward off the butt syndrome that may be contributing to a host of other bodily issues.

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