Consistency is Everything!

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle.

Wow, I think this is a very powerful statement. Do you know that it takes 21 days to change a habit and 21 months to change a lifestyle? If we are cruising along and we “fall down” on day 15, then the “21 days to a new habit” period starts over again.  The same goes for the 21 months.

Knowing how much fuel you use and how much fuel you put into your body is tangible, concrete. You can count it.  You can calculate your results with a small margin of error. Demonstrate this by keeping a journal for yourself.

Change your thoughts about your body and practice affirmations daily. If you are already doing this, do more of them and use them more often throughout your day.  Maybe even more importantly, stop that negative mind chatter.  Stop having negative thoughts about your body.  You can’t resent those that have mastered the skills of health, or have spiteful opinions of people changing their health for the better.

Give up:

 

• Being a victim,
• Resentfulness,
• Anger,
• Jealousy

 

Appreciate and love the body you have, and other’s bodies.  Once you’ve mastered your positive thoughts about your body, turn them into actions.

 

• Quality movement
• Quality nourishment

 

Start with a couple of  items, like taking a ten minute walk after every meal, then move to eating more vegetables during the week and watch how these small efforts bring joy to your life.  Watch how other health habits flow more easily into your life.  Notice how much easier work becomes.

At the end of the month, count the calories.  Add them up to the cumulative total that you’ve expended.  Have you spent more calories then you did before? If your answer is “Yes!” then congratulations on a job well done!  My movement calories are piled high with treasures for my body and I’m unloading them today!

Here is the secret. Keep doing this! Consistency is everything! A lot of us say “Alright! We made it!” and then we stop moving (after we just had amazing results) and just revert to our old, ingrained habits. Sometimes we think we’ve conquered the “mind thing” and don’t have to work at it any more.  No more affirmations.  Guess what?  We sink.  We “roller-coaster” again with our health and ask ourselves, “How did this happen?” Or we accomplish the thinking part, like the affirmations, and stop moving; like the affirmations will work like some magic dust over our body. Nope.  We need to go back to that tangible, concrete method.

• Fuel in – Fuel out.

Marathon Blog #5

Well our first event (The 5K) is just around the corner. Don’t forget to determine when you can pick up your registrations prior to the race. (You should already be signed up for this race) http://www.runshamrocks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31

I know we will be driving separately, but as the event gets closer let’s look for a good meet-up place. Make sure that you eat right before the race as well. Our pre- race chicken and veggie pasta would be a good choice to consider. http://mindbodybalance.com/newsletter_articles.php (scroll to the bottom to find many recipes that appear in The Balancing Act).

Also, make sure that you have signed up for your 10K or you will have to pay extra very soon. http://www.martianmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=61

Now that some housekeeping is out of the way, let’s look ahead to the next four weeks of training. It is time to start evaluating your long runs. Some of you may be natural pace setters and some, like me, might struggle with this area of your training.

So here are some things to consider:

• After your long runs…

o do you just want to lie on the couch for a few hours,

o legs are tired or sore for a couple of days following the run,

o winded during the last few miles,

o feel nauseated, irritated at the end of the run.

If you answered yes to any of these questions you are probably running at too fast of a pace for your training right now and should consider slowing down.

• Before your long run you also need to…

o make sure that you are getting enough sleep the day before,

o eating appropriately,

o are you drinking enough fluids before?

• During and after…

o are you mentally preparing for the long run,

o dressing for weather conditions and

o are you running with a partner?

As our long runs increase, factors that can make them more painful are:

o dehydration,

o insufficient fueling of your body,

o walk breaks that were too short or too fast,

o general fatigue because of our hectic American lifestyle,

o maybe your short runs were to close together,

o the pace you were running was too aggressive.

According to the Running USA Website in 2004, the average marathon time for men was 4:24:35 (approx. pace 10:15) and women 4:55:21 (approx. pace 11:15).

Listen to your body! You will hear me say this over and over again. Rest and recovery are very important.
You must allow enough recovery. If you do not, you will not become more fit, you will just become more tired. Your body needs time to rest and recover in order to get stronger and improve.
Don’t be a slave to your program. Be flexible and respond to what your body is telling you. If you went out, were too aggressive with your pace and your legs are feeling sore, allow yourself to put an extra day of rest in-between your runs; or just go out for your run and (instead of running) walk the time or distance instead.
Yes, we need to plan our workouts and not cut corners but we also need to be flexible so that we can listen to what our body is telling us. In case you haven’t noticed a pattern yet in your workouts, let me point out that you always have a recovery week each month. So, if you feel stiff, tired, and sore then allow an extra day of recovery before your next run. If you miss a session or two (I know I have because of weather) then don’t try to “play catch-up” and do extra the following week. This is a recipe for injury.
Don’t go rogue and start running every day because you love the added endorphins and how your body is feeling. Remember your schedule has rest days, recover weeks and progresses for a reason. Stick to it. Spread out your runs to avoid over-training. Have patience, listen and learn. You will not improve your running technique overnight, but you will progress gradually and those baby steps will add up to something great.

Our first race is coming up and you will have some pre-race-day jitters.
The positive energy will get to you.
The competition (even if you aren’t there for the competition but for the fun of it) will get to you.
You’ll get start-line jitters. Running in a crowd can make you want to run faster than your pace, especially when 100’s are passing you,
Learning how to take water from an aid station can be a little unsettling. Rest assured that these events are practice for the marathon event that you choose. After a couple of events, you will feel comfortable, confident and your anxiety will reduce.

Remember, pacing yourself is important. Give yourself the talk test you should be able to speak in sentences without feeling winded. Finding the right pace is difficult, but you should be able to maintain a pace throughout your training run.

“To climb step hills requires a slow pace at first” –Shakespeare, King Henry the Eighth

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Active Rest & Nap	Short Run & Yoga	Yoga	Short Run	Pilates	Pilates	Long Run
Active Rest & Nap	Short Run & Yoga	Yoga	Short Run	Pilates	Pilates	Long Run
Active Rest & Nap	Short Run & Yoga	Yoga	Short Run	Pilates	Pilates	Long Run & Sherri’s Health Class
Active Rest & Nap	Short Run & Yoga	Yoga	Short Run	Pilates	Pilates	Long Run

“The two rules of perseverance: Rule #1 Take one more step. Rule #2 when you don’t think you can take one more strep, refer to Rule #1.” _{-H. Jackson Brown Jr., American Author}

Week One: Short Runs are 40/50, Long Run is 6 miles Your interval times for all runs will be five minute warm ups and cool downs and then six minute jog with a one minute walk.

Week Two: Short Runs are 50/60 No Long Run because we will be at the event running a 5k Your interval times for all runs will be five minute warm ups and cool downs and then six minute jog with a one minute walk.

Week Three: Short Runs are 40/50 Long Run is 7 miles Your interval times for all runs will be five minute warm ups and cool downs and then six minute jog with a one minute walk.

Week Four: Short Runs are 40/50 Long Run is 8 miles Your interval times for all runs will be five minute warm ups and cool downs and then six minute jog with a one minute walk.

In Chi Running or Walking by Danny Dreyer read chapters 7-9.

Here is your third event to sign up for: http://www.trailmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

You will want to sign up for this race by March 15, 2011; otherwise you will have to pay extra and may not make it into the race. They do have a runners limit for both the full and half of 1,000 runners. You will be signing up for the half. This course is going to be challenging, you will get dirty and you will need to bring your running etiquette with you (I’ll spend more time on this in our next blog). By May 1^st you will have been in 3 races (5k, 10k and half). You’ve come a long way baby!

Marathon Blog #2

 What is a marathon? How do I choose my event? How do I decide to participate?

Commitment, Patience, Good Training Program, Will/ Desire to go the distance, Willingness to take advice/ tips, Consistency, Love, Perseverance, Determination and Hard Work are some characteristics that you will have to own in order to accomplish the goal of completing your first Marathon in the fall of 2011.

A qualifying run for a marathon is 3.30 hours and under. Our first goal is to finish and then to finish in about 5-6 hours for a full marathon. A full marathon is 26.2 miles and half marathon is 13.1 miles.

If we walk a full marathon, it will take about 7 hours.  We need to finish in about 6 hours so we will need to do some shuffling in there. If you walk a half marathon, it will be about 4 hours.

Why are we doing this as a studio and why are you even considering participating in this event?
Once you accomplished this experience you won’t regret it.  It is a simplistic, inexpensive event.  Training for the event and the event itself will teach you a lot about yourself.  You’ll learn your limitations and at the same time be given opportunities to conquer them.  You’ll improve your self-worth.

Are you up for it mentally and physically? I know I’m up for a new mental task and physically… well, it’s time I get back into my cardio routine.  There is nothing like an event to make that happen.

Can you make the commitment? I know that I’m worried about this one myself.  Being a small business owner, working 100 hours a week plus having a marriage and a personal life is going to be tough. For example, you are going to have about 38-41 weeks of training you will have 3 cardio sessions on top of your Pilates and yoga to add to your schedule.  One of these cardio sessions (as the training schedule progresses) will take several hours to complete.

Will you have Support? You will have support from me and our Mind Body Balance Community but this is another step in making a lifestyle change.  As you know I always ask you, “How will this help you and hurt you?” Your loved ones will be affected by part of the process whether they are participating in the event or not.

Do I have limiting health Concerns?  Well, as you all know I have injury in my spine in the cervical and thoracic vertebra.  I believe that Pilates and Yoga has made me strong enough to endure this event but until I put it to the test… we will see.  Be honest.  Don’t set yourself up for failure.  Maybe you need to pick the half marathon or train longer than 26 weeks. We are taking a slow, gradual training approach and there will be flexibility in the schedule for you to decide as you progress whether to complete a half or a full.

Are you prepared to take care of yourself? You are going to have to pay particular attention to your nutrition (using your online nutrition program), hydration, and sleep.  All of these are parts of a good training program. Are you willing to be mindful in these areas? We’ve given you the tools to make you successful.  Will you use them to help yourself?

Am I mentally strong enough to physically make this happen? We are often our own worst enemy. Our psychological barriers are often our biggest obstacle to overcome. We are about to embark on a 30+ cardio week of walking/ shuffling/ jogging training program.

Yes, you can go from a coach potato to a full marathon. But we are training a little longer and a little bit different than some programs are written. We need to allow our body (muscles, bones, ligaments) time to adapt to the stress of 26.2 miles that will be put on the body. Yes, some people get injured while preparing for these events. These injuries come from under-training, because they didn’t allow enough time or they were inconsistent in following their program. Some injuries come from over-training; they trained too hard and too frequently. Success for this event will not come easily. This schedule is slow so you can build strength, stamina and confidence. Our ultimate goal is to improve your overall health/ fitness level and to remain injury free. Our secondary goal is to cross that finish line with grace that allowed you to honor your body. The journal I asked you to get will allow you to monitor your aches and pains, seek expert advice and then listen and follow the recommendations.

Preparing for this event is the cheapest prescription available.  The benefits are: 

 

improved heart rate;
cardiovascular system;
muscle tone;
weight control,
circulation,
sleep patterns,
improved health,
increased energy,
improved self-esteem,
time with friends,
quality time outdoors,
stress relief,
weight control,
character building,
strength,
wisdom,
know yourself a little bit better,
bragging rights at the water cooler,
decreased risk of stroke,
decreased risk of hypertension,
decreased risk of diabetes,
decreased risk of cancer (breast and colon),
decreased risk of mental illness,
improves respiratory function,
improves bone strength,
improves muscle balance,
psychological well-being,
improves overall quality of life,
confidence building,
overall attitude boost,
improve focus,
determination,
euphoria
and the list goes on.

 

Some cons for preparing for this event are:

 

a great deal of patience, discipline and willpower
blisters,
chafing,
fatigue after event,
time involved,
experience highs/lows,
cold weather,
injury,

 

Should you participate in a half or a full marathon? Well, how much time do you have to commit to your exercise program? Does the time you have available for your next exercise endeavor match the demands that characterize a full or a half? Have you been injury free the past few months? Are you mentally and physical prepared to train for significantly longer periods of time? Do you have the commitment of family support? Do you realize there will be a “tired” factor and you may need to turn in early for the night? Are you board and want to try another activity?

You all filled out a Par-Q before exercising at the studio. If you marked yes to any of the seven questions then ask your doctor to do an exam before beginning. If you didn’t have any “yeses” than you are probably fine to start training. When you talk to your doctor make sure that they understand what a marathon is and aren’t just against events because they wouldn’t do one. Sorry doc’s, I love ya but maybe you should join us J

Your teen may decide that while you are training they’d like to participate.  This would be a wonderful parent child activity.  Please check first with their doctor to make sure you understand their skeletal maturity. Don’t force your teen to choose your goals.  Let them set their own goals to reach for. You focus on safety and being a good role model.

Our next blog will talk about what is involved with participating in a marathon?

Marathon Blog #1:

This is an overview on:

• How we will help support you
• Dates to clear
• Products to put into your toolbox

I had the pleasure of meeting Anne Zorran when she walked into my studio to become a Pilates client. Anne was a pleasant surprise to me. You see, every client at Mind Body Balance is a gift. We believe those that are ready for a life change will find us. We know that while each client is a new challenge, they will touch our lives in an unsuspected way and we will learn as much as they did. Anne shared her story with me and inspired me to take it to the next level.

We have helped several athletes over the past year accomplish their dreams of participating in Triathlons.  Nick and I (and then some of our clients joined us) volunteered at some local Triathlons and supported our clients who participated. The energy at these events is amazing and this has to be one of the best volunteer experiences we’ve ever helped with. We will continue to volunteer at these again this year and I hope that more of you will join me.

Now we, as a studio, will compete in our first Marathon. Together as a studio we are going to complete The Detroit Free Press Marathon on October 16, 2011.

We have chosen four races in total and the whole family could get involved with all but one of them. Now, I know participating in a Marathon seems overwhelming! Your eyes glaze over, your heart skips a beat, you immediately get tired and feelings of self-doubt come up.  However, somewhere in there a smile occurs.  The mind starts to think “What if…. you know… I’ve secretly wanted to say that I have completed one.” Well, you can participate in one. You will learn a lot about yourself as you prepare for this event. Usually a training schedule for a Marathon is 20 weeks.  Our training schedule will be about 38 weeks. Each training schedule will come out in 4 weeks blocks so that you can plan that month’s training.

• Your Pilates schedule to help you with alignment, strength and flexibility.
• Your yoga will add flexibility and to help you reduce your stress levels.
• Your on-line nutrition program will help you keep your body fueled properly.

 

A quick overview of the program: 

• We will support you and your training schedule through our various services and partners in the community.
• Your monthly training schedule will appear on Mind Body Balance’s blog along with other support materials.
  • We encourage you to be interactive on this blog. Ask questions, share your self-doubt and share your celebrations so that together as part of the Mind Body Balance community we can offer words of encouragement. Trust me.  If you have a question, others have the same question. 
  • We will also be posting some daily thoughts on Mind Body Balance’s Fan Page on Facebook.
    • There will be days that you don’t want to go out and do your training.  Post this on our Facebook page and maybe you’ll get some inspiration from your other Mind Body Balance community members and/ or find someone who is feeling the same way.  You can meet up to train together that day.
    • Feel free to say, “I train on ‘blank’ days in the ‘blank’ time of day.  Does this work for anyone else?  I’d love to have a partner.”  I’ll be posting mine.
    • The program is being set up so that during the week you can do your training schedule however it works best for you.  The longer training sessions will occur on Saturdays.
      • We will always have a “meet” at the studio (or a location that has been announced) for our group training.  You can choose to come if it works for you, but you are not required to come. As our training times get longer… as we increase our endurance… it is nice to have a group support.  Trust me, not all of us will hit walls at the same time and so someone in the group will be able to take the lead and push us through the hump.
        • Read Gung Ho! By Ken Blanchard and pay particular attention to the “goose” story.
        • We will also have various field trips, running shoes, clothing, and speaking seminars from people who have completed marathons on regular bases.  These field trips have been planned to correspond with our training schedule and to appear when we most need them.

 

I’m asking you to purchase some support materials.

• Chi Running or Chi Walking by Danny Dreyer (about $11 on Amazon or order locally from the Book Nook)
• Your Body Speaks Your Mind by Deb Shapiro (about $13 on Amazon or order locally from the Book Nook)
• A journal that will record your training notes (about $10) and anything that comes up that you’d like to work on in Jane’s workshops,
• A Polar RS300 heart rate monitor ($112 to $200)
• We will have some clothing picked out for us to wear on race day.  You will be asked to cover the cost of this clothing.
• All marathon training from me (and during our Saturday meet-ups) will be free of charge to all clients. 
  •  I think it is important for us to spend this year learning about ourselves and growing our bond as a community at Mind Body Balance (we have amazing individuals to meet),
  • We can set a good role model for our town.
  • It is time to take our training to the next level in a safe way. We are strong.  Let’s not cheat our body! Trust me, while I may be ahead of you in Yoga and Pilates, because of my hamstring injury (that I’ve now procrastinated with) I’ll be starting my cardio over (just as some of you are starting it for the first time).
  • Our overall goal is just to FINISH the race.
    • Our goal is to be done with the race in at least 6 hours.
      • Why?  After this length of time they start opening the streets.
      • This means that we are walking, shuffling, and/or jogging a 13: 45 minute mile or about 4.5 miles in an hour.
      • Please don’t think that we are asking you to flat out run 26.2 miles because we are not.
      • A shuffle is a cross between a fast walk and a slow jog. I think that each of you can participate in some way on this day. If you have concerns please speak to me on an individual bases and I will be candid with you on how I think you should approach this. I will give you a “play it safe” goal and a “stretch for the top” goal. I hope that each of you will pick a “stretch for the top” goal but the choice (as always) will be yours to make and we will respect that choice.

 

Here are some dates to clear on your calendar:

• Saturdays at 3p.m. (unless you are going it alone for the long training days),
• March1 3, 2011 –Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K run and walk in Ann Arbor (5K run, 5K walk, kids run)
• April 2, 2011 –Martian Invasion of Races Dearborn (5K Run, 10K Run, Kids Run, Half, Relay and Full)
• June 5, 2011 –Dexter Ann Arbor (5K Run, 5K Walk, 10 K Run, 10K Walk, Kids Run, Half)

Then our main event!

• The Detroit Free Press Marathon, October 16, 2011
  • Everyone can participate, including your friends and family if you wish. (5K walk, 5K run, 10K run, Half, Full, Kids Run). Don’t panic this sounds like a lot but I paired up these smaller events with our long training schedules to prepare us for what race day would feel like. We aren’t over training, we are just doing some of our longer sessions in an actual event form.

I will be printing out applications and rules for these events and have them at the studio for you.

Our next blog will cover topics like, What is a marathon? How do I choose my event? How do I decide to participate?

We are also adding more helpful components to our list this year to help you further your training experience.

• Jane V. Lutz, MSN, RN will be here to guide us through some self-growth and interpersonal development. She has been involved in holistic study and healing since 1985. She has taught psychiatric nursing, a variety of holistic classes and meditation. She offers individual and group education sessions and her writings about spirituality have been published. She has been a Mind/Body: Balance client for over a year now.  As we go through this journey you will learn a lot about yourself physically and emotionally.
  • These classes will be held on the 4^th Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. for 90 minutes for $25 at Mind Body Balance.
  • Holly Cramner is a registered craniosacral therapist and creates a warm and open atmosphere in her office where you can really change your health and your life.  Holly is also a client of Mind Body Balance and is participating in the event with us.  Using a holistic healthcare approach, breathing/ visualization classes and homeopathic remedies along with craniosacral therapies, Holly has helped many people cure their ailments, relieve their pain and increase their emotional well-being. She will be holding some breathing classes. As you know, with any movement, breathing is paramount and we need to strengthen this area of our body in order to make it through our events with ease.
    • These classes will be held on Saturdays at noon at Mind Body Balance for $70 for a seven week series or a $12 drop in.
  • Sherri Eby is our Naturopath;  so if you start feeling run down or a little funky, Ask Sherri Eby for natural health information.  She is a Natural Health Educator and body worker, currently training as a Naturopath.  You can get insight on several natural health topics and understand how to apply them per your needs.  Information that she can help you with includes nutrition, herbal supplements, essential oils, body work and homeopathies.  Remember, Sherri is participating in the marathon training and will be encountering some of the same issues that you might be faced with. You can call her for a consultation and she will also be writing an article that you will see in our monthly newsletter “Balancing Act” to give us food for thought. Sherri is also a client and participating in our event with us.
    • Sherri is having natural health education sessions on the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. and the 3rd Saturday of each month at 1:00 p.m.  Please check the Mind/Body: Balance web site for specific dates and topics.  Each session is an hour long for $10 drop in or $35 dollars for a four session series. 
  • We have a list of five massage therapists each specializing in a different area so when you need body work (please be proactive with this) we have you covered Sherri Eby (Mindful Massage on Monroe St), Holly Cramner (The Resolution Center on Monroe Street) , Dawn Bellino (Divine Balance Therapeutic Massage on Telegraph Rd), Lisa Mannosco (located in Zinnen on Telegraph Rd), Rachael Gardner (Mindful Massage on Monroe St).

 

Our local Healthy Food Store “Health Matters,” is owned and operated by Maurine Sharp R.N. ~ Natural Nurse.  In 2004 Maurine’s vision of educating and helping people with health issues became a reality with the opening or her store:

Health Matters Herbs & More
17 E. Second St.

Located in the downtown district of Monroe, MI .

Maurine is a registered nurse, graduating in 1970 from Henry Ford Community College. She has worked in many facets of the nursing field including, hospitals, nursing homes, a doctor’s office and 14 years in mental health working with the developmentally disabled and those with mental illnesses.  Her passion for growing and using herbs began her journey into the field of natural health. Her accreditations include medicinal herbal education with Clayton College Of Natural Health, hands on herbal training with Linda Diane Feldt, a practicing herbalist in Ann Arbor, MI. and continued training.   

  Maurine’s services include personal health consultations, classes on vitamins and herbs, muscle testing, field trips and also a lending library that features a vast array of books on health issues including nutrition and disease.  She is also a great resource for us to pick up quality food for us to fuel our bodies.

Lifetime of Legacy!

Some things in life can’t be learned through reading and studying alone.  You know what I’m talking about, the things that we learn through life experience.  Things like learning to appreciate the moment and to savor life as it comes along in what it has to offer us at the time.

As a child, I loved all of my time on the farm. When I entered kindergarten we only went half days, so I thought “Alright I could do this school stuff.”  But then when I advanced to first grade, I had to be in school all day. I announced to my teacher, after a couple of weeks, that I just simply did not have the time to devote to being in school all day, most days of the week. I’m sure this amused and amazed Mrs. Danso. I remember her asking me what was so important that I just couldn’t make school a priority. I began describing that I had a horse to ride, a dog to play with, lunch with my grandparents and walking along the creek that I couldn’t fit in and attend school. Needless to say, her and my parents set me straight on my priorities that day. I quickly fell into line but the school years seemed to drag on and the summers flew by. As I approach my forties, I still long for those farm days of simple, slow, hardworking (but rich in value) days. As I return home on holidays, I spend every day walking and looking at my old haunts and find that they still bring me comfort.  I can still spend a whole day morning to evening in those woods.

Here as an adult I have deep feelings of self-assessment and retrospection.  How have I spent my life?  Will I leave a better place than I found for the generations to come?  Have I (and will I) continue to live up to my capabilities?  I put myself through school at Youngstown State University.  I began my professional adult life in management for large corporations (and was very successful for my age in these companies) but I just wasn’t passionate about it. So, I abandoned this (with my husband’s support) in search for what I was passionate about. I found that passion fairly quickly and it morphed into a business and a passion for movement.  All of which has brought me to the present.

I’m often asked, how did my business (Mind/ Body: Balance) aquire its name? Well, I had approached my husband with the beginnings of my business plan for personal training. He suggested that I try it out on a small scale and be open to allowing my business plan to take on different forms, if need be. I’m glad he suggested that, because I quickly found that my plan of meeting the client in their home or office wasn’t for me. I also knew that being a personal trainer in a gym wasn’t for me either because I felt that this system was failing Americans. He and I then went to a conference together. I attended the first “Inner Idea” and together we attended “IDEA World” in Las Vegas. I remember calling my husband from the inner idea conference and saying that I had found what I was looking for. 

My intuition was right.  There were 500 attendees from 13 countries and we were all on the same page.  We are going to become pioneers in the fitness industry and change lives. Needless to say, Nick was excited to meet me in Las Vegas. He worked the expo, talking with vendors and I worked the education tract. It was this weekend that we developed our business plan, philosophy and named the business. The name came from a course that I took taught by Dr. Ralph LaForge. He has a definition of what makes an exercise program a mind/ body exercise. We view the mind and body as a totality. We strive for a balanced mind/body exercise using three components: cognition, breathing, and physical movement.

 

MIND: Fostering mindfulness and a culture of conscious living, or being engaged in the experience of the present moment, connecting us to a deeper purpose.

BODY: Encouraging the integration of many pathways. Finding the practices that work best for each individual; encouraging a commitment to the essence of learning, discovery and mastery.

 

BALANCE: Cultivating the development of balance in all facets of your life as the centering principle for sustainable well-being.

Mind/ Body: Balance’s ultimate goal is for our clients to transform their mind and body; finding balance through learning and self-discovery.  So when I am looking at adding a service to Mind/ Body: Balance it has to represent most (if not all) of these principles.  As an integrative fitness professional; we realize our clients are a complete package.

What a wonderful journey it has been thus far; and how lucky I have been in making most of my life choices. As many newcomers to America remind me… only in America could I have taken this opportunity and experienced such a dazzling outcome. I married Nick in 2004 and I knew when I met him in 1996 that he would be a life partner that I could count on. I have been blessed to have him there as times have been tough; when I would have given up on myself and my dream.  He reminds me of how “great” I am when I’m feeling down, humbles me if I get too righteous, acts as my sounding board when I need to work through an idea or vent and is always there for a hug when I need one. He pushes me to be better. I have been blessed to start this business in a community that has given me countless customers that are great comfort and give me pleasure in ownership of my business. You’ll see these great folks, customers of Mind/ Body: Balance, dotted all over the United States. They have put in tireless work to change their lives, to improve their quality of life, to change the destiny of their family tree so that it can live long and prosper. They have shared their success and inspired others on their journey to success. I’m amazed at how far Mind/Body: Balance reaches in changing lives.

Remember, life is sweet and we shouldn’t squander it with “I’ll have time to nurture myself when the cows come home.” attitudes. The saddest phrase to hear is someone saying “If only I had…” after they have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. What we do for ourselves in the form of nutrition and exercise affects our life on all levels.

Thom Moser once said “In spite of all our hopes, plans and dreams, all we ever have is now.”  My hope for my readers, followers, friends, family, clients, and “soon to be” clients is that among your current aspirations, that you will give yourself a gift of improving your quality of life (and taking back your life) through the purchase of a Mind/Body: Balance service. I know that you will pass this journey, this experience, this wisdom on from generation to generation.  Not only will you enhance your life and environment in some measure, you will become a part of the development process of our newest cutting edge programs. We inspire our clients to movement! What movement legacy are you leaving behind?

Things are Looking Up!

With last year being my twentieth class reunion I’ve learned a couple of things. First off, they always hold them on Thanksgiving weekend which never works for me to attend. I wish they held it during the summer when I could attend. But, thanks to the invention of social media I’ve been able to connect with some old classmates and I’m enjoying learning about their lives. One of my classmates lives in Alaska. I love going to his page and seeing the beauty of the landscape (going to Alaska is a dream of mine). He titled one picture “Things are looking up.” and the camera angle was as if you were lying down at the bottom of the trees and took the picture facing up to the sky. These trees had to be old because they went for what seemed like miles. They were graceful, majestic and wise.

“If you look up, there are no limits.” –Japanese Proverb

A lot of people fail at exercise because they don’t do the “thinking part” to exercise. They just rush right out to the action stage. However, there is a big thinking part to living a healthy lifestyle. You have to have some goals and an action plan to get to your goals. You have to know at what stage of change you are at. You need to know what obstacles might get in your way and plan for them to get in your way. You need to have a strong internal motivator or connection with the real you so that when things get tough you hang in there.

So, I met this guy this week that came into the studio and said “Kim I have to get healthy.”

I said “Great! Have you thought about what it might take to reach your goals? How it might help you and how it might hurt you?”

He said “No! But I want to live and my doctor said I need to start exercising and so the journey has begun.” 

You need to think about what outcome you want? How are you going to get there? What the process might look like? What are you really willing to do, rearrange, sacrifice to get you started on the journey? One lady shared with me that she was going to have to sacrifice eating out at McDonald’s every day in order to afford my services and that she’d have to put in the effort of planning and packing meals in order to do this. In my studio and through my global services that I offer, everyone always gets one free session; it’s just the way I do business. I do this because you need to try on that service to see what it feels like so that you can start believing that it’s possible to get healthy and that you are worth the effort. Not to mention… you may be surprised that with little effort you can actually afford services such as a fitness coach/ personal trainer, Pilates Apparatus classes, Yoga, etc. Don’t let your limiting beliefs slow you down!

I have written a free eBook which you can find at this link http://www.mindbodybalance.com/archive/Plan%20for%20Results%20Ebook.pdf  that goes into more detail of how to plan for success not failure. I hope that it inspires you to become a goal making machine and you start getting healthy today! You will be surprised at how much sooner you reach your ideal self when you have something specific to shoot for!